Secret Flowers
by Hikaru-wa-shiawase-ni-eien-ni
Summary: Rachel mysteriously and curiously finds a flower has been left in her locker, the first of many, without a clue as to who the sender might be other than a note they left underneath and she aims to find out who it is and the sender is rather unexpected when the truth finally comes out. Side Brittana in the story, too.
1. The First Petal

Chapter 1

The First Petal

X

It was already more than two months in to junior for Rachel and so she hadn't been expecting to find anything particularly unusual in her locker. The morning had been like any other for her other than the fact that she wasn't pining over Finn anymore, not after some regrettable things the year prior with her revealing Quinn's baby's real father's identity and other things in between. Finn had been angry and furious with Quinn for lying to him, any human being would really, and Rachel felt bad that she was the one who had done it. Finn tried to get with her a few weeks after the incident but Rachel was feeling too guilty, too ashamed of herself for what she did, among other things, and decided to just take the summer to relax.

She wanted to stress less about the things that had happened at school this last year and she wanted some peace from anything related to school. He had tried to ask her again but she told him that she still needed time to sort her life out before making any commitments about anything. It was all quite simple really. Glee Club had taken over her life, she was still part of the Celibacy Club, as was Quinn though Santana and Brittany were no longer in attendance, and she was also part of the school newspaper, the Muckraker, and she just didn't have time between all of that and her own voice and dance lessons. It was just too much to balance all at once.

On this unassuming day Rachel opened her locker to find something she most definitely did not remember leaving inside of it the day before when she left William McKinley High School to go home. There was one simple but beautiful white flower lying on top of her books as if it had always been there. It opened up in a way that made it look like it was a pinwheel almost and it looked elegant in its simplicity and it made Rachel's heart and mind race with great excitement. Rachel was no expert on flowers but … whoever had left it in her locker seemed to be based off of the note she had almost missed entirely underneath the white flower. The note said in neat cursive: _This flower tells of how I dreamed of thee, a Thornapple for the one I cherish most. Sincerely, F, your secret admirer._ And that was all there was to the little note left in her locker and it had her more interested in anyone than she had ever been. Not only had this person said that they dreamed of her but that they were her _secret admirer_ as well! She didn't know that someone was secretly admiring her! Well, obviously they were a secret admirer for a reason but still! She, Rachel Barbra Berry, had a secret admirer and she intended to find out who they were immediately!

She wondered when they had been able to sneak into her locker to leave the flower and note inside between last night and this morning. Perhaps they did it after school? Or maybe early in the morning before anyone else arrived to school? They could have an early morning club or one that meets after school and snuck it in then while she was busy with her school newspaper club. They might have done it while she was busy with either Glee Club or Celibacy Club which took up the entire week after school. Or maybe they were a bit of a delinquent and did it while no one was at school and broke into the school at night so they wouldn't be caught. So many thoughts shifted through her mind but she was definitely curious and pondering all of the possibilities of who it could be, who the admirer was.

She was intrigued, her interest more than a little bit piqued from the combination of a flower and note showing interest in her, and she was the kind of person who was confident in herself but she didn't think she had any secret admirers hidden away. It obviously couldn't have been Finn despite the F because not only was his idea of romance going to McDonald's or just Breadstix he also didn't know how to write or read in cursive nor would he ever actually research something like a flower. She was also quite certain that Finn wasn't the type to leave things as a secret admirer considering he just asked people out when he was interested.

Rachel read the note over again as she tried to remember anyone in the school with any kind of F in their name whether it was first or last name. Obviously Finn was out of the equation by default. There was a Flynn Ryder, Rory Flannigan, Larissa Fretthold, Faridah Lawson, Francesco Borgia, Lloyd Flowers, Lindsay Folder, and lastly, but most likely not, Quinn Fabray. Rachel couldn't think of anyone else with an F in their name from the secret admirer's note and only clue as to who they were but she would stop at nothing to find out as her mind continued to race with all of the potential candidates she might not even know.

X

The rest of her day unfortunately went by terribly slowly as Rachel looked high and low for anyone who seemed even more interested in her than usual in case they were the secret admirer. She hardly knew any of the people she thought of earlier with an initial of F in their names other than Rory and Quinn because they were both fellow Glee Club members. She knew Sean in passing because he was in the Jazz Band but it wasn't as if she really talked to him all that much … or at all even. And Finn was already so obvious because despite the fact that they agreed to be friends he often asked her to outings that were just the two of them and would constitute as a date more so than just friends hanging out together. She was almost 100% sure that Finn wasn't the secret admirer in any way whatsoever. She just wished she knew more middle names because the admirer could have used a middle initial to throw her off since not many people liked, let alone told, other people their middle names.

Every class Rachel was in seemed to have a personal vendetta against her. They seemed to go by even more slowly than usual and the ticking of the clock was a constant reminder to Rachel that time wasn't going to move any more quickly no matter how long she stared at it. The seconds seemed to elongate the more often she would glance up at the clock as it continued to tick every second. When half of her classes were over it felt like an eternity had passed and she was quite sure that a good few teachers were confused by her lack of participation and constant hand waving to answer each and every question without fail. She was almost always waving her hand in a 'pick me, pick me, oh pick me,' fashion and the teachers were accustomed to seeing her wave madly to be chosen even if her hand was the only one in the air every time they asked a question. Rachel was too lost in thought for that today though and the teachers noticed. One had even asked her to stay behind in concern to ask her if anything wrong was going on in her life. Though Rachel had said no and assured the teacher she was okay her teacher still told her that she was available if Rachel ever needed to talk about something no matter what it was. Rachel was actually rather touched and gave Ms. Holiday a bright smile on her way out of the empty classroom.

It seemed like every single class that day was everlasting, never ending, and perpetual in every way possible until Rachel was finally free to get her things packed and leave. She couldn't wait to leave the classroom behind in favor of going to her locker to get herself ready for her after school club for today in the form of Celibacy Club. Although there wasn't much Rachel really gained from the club she did appreciate the fact that she could take the time to herself, for the most part, since Ms. Pillsbury was the one running it and she hardly ever actually did anything but push pamphlets on all of them. Rachel decided that she would use that time to brainstorm ideas as to who the secret admirer was and ways of finding out who the secret admirer could be. There were so many ways they could have gotten into the school before or after school was over and put the flower into the locker as well as the lovely note they left. The only other hint she had other than the note itself was that the note had been handwritten in _cursive_ which most people must have forgotten how to read and write in by now. Obviously Rachel had excellent penmanship but … but the cursive she had seen on that note looked so beautifully written, like the writer had had years of practice with a steady hand. The cursive looped and looked so elegant and it was the only other hint to go by.

As Rachel walked through the halls to make it to the bi-weekly Celibacy Club meeting she saw that Ms. Pillsbury was already there but Quinn had yet to arrive. And when she did, she decided that Quinn couldn't possibly be her secret admirer because her face was as impassive as always and she'd gotten the Cheerios uniform back almost as soon as school began again. Even though she'd gotten the uniform back Quinn hadn't reverted back to sophomore year Quinn but that didn't mean anything really. She was still rather aloof about everything as she was before and the only difference was that there were no insults, no slushies with barbed words. And yet there was no way it was Quinn because just looking at her now Quinn didn't look like she was looking at Rachel any differently than before … in fact she wasn't even looking at her at all as per usual. Something had changed over the summer with Quinn because she barely paid anyone any mind now.

Quinn was examining her nails and waiting for the other two members to walk in through the door, though they both knew Finn only came to see Rachel and Puck came because Finn begged him. After several minutes had passed Quinn actually took her notebook out and started writing something with careful consideration as she paused every few lines to think. It was almost as if Quinn was writing poetry to Rachel based on how she broke up the lines but she couldn't be sure. Rachel was actually more than a little curious about what Quinn's writing looked like because she really hadn't ever seen it before and it was almost as if Quinn didn't want anyone knowing what her writing looked like from past experience. Rachel suddenly recalled how when Quinn was pregnant was would often have a faraway look on her face sometimes and just looked off into the distance. Other times though … Quinn would write in something that looked like a journal while Glee Club was in session and she would always try to hide it from others whenever they tried to peek, mostly Santana would do this though.

It was actually another few minutes before some loud laughter could be heard as the last two members walked in as if there was no rush whatsoever even though they were at least a minute late. Puck would never take it seriously and Finn just sat there to stare at Rachel with puppy dog eyes and just stare at her period, which she didn't really appreciate in the least. She actually took this club seriously. It wasn't until they sat down in their usual seats opposite the people they wanted to ogle that Ms. Pillsbury called the club into meeting and began by telling them what their topic for the day was. Despite the fact that the club meeting had already started Finn ogled Rachel while Puck leered at Quinn and she ignored him entirely while Rachel focused her attention on Ms. Pillsbury instead of him. She knew he was watching her as he always did during Celibacy Club and Ms. Pillsbury finally started talking about sexual urges and addressed how sexual desires shouldn't be things people gave into, especially because girls giving their virginity away wasn't something they could take back. A girl's virginity and first time should be special and with someone they love instead of something done in the heat of the moment and a regret to reflect later on in life or even after the fact.

The meeting went on as Ms. Pillsbury talked about the importance of not giving into teenage hormones because they were temporary and it was better to not have any regrets. She, of course, paused every few minutes to ask if anyone had any questions for her or needed one of her many pamphlets set up on the table without a single one out of place. There were several different ones on display with titles from _The Big Bad Hormones_ to _Staying Sexually Pure _and it caused Quinn to roll her eyes while Puck just smirked. Finn was completely ignoring everything being said as usual while Rachel herself was the only one who was taking any of this seriously and actually taking notes, _notes!_, in her notebook.

They went on like this for the full hour until the only interesting thing that happened at any point was actually Quinn interjecting once.

"Those pamphlets aren't really going to do anyone any good if there's alcohol involved." And she said nothing more while Ms. Pillsbury just looked on with a flustered expression on her face before she cleared her throat, said it was a good point, and moved on from the subject matter entirely. It did cause a few ripples, Puck actually looked away in shame, Rachel looked guilty, and Finn looked angry and his cheeks were flushed with it. Quinn just looked forlorn, despondent in a way Rachel didn't ever really remember seeing her look except when Finn found out who the father was. She looked like she was lost and so very dejected in that very moment and Rachel felt her heart lurch in her chest, like there was a slight pain in her chest from that look on her face and in her eyes. It was sadder than anything she had ever seen in Quinn before and so heartbreakingly beautiful despite it all.

Ms. Pillsbury dismissed them not long after Quinn's brief interruption and they all packed up to go their separate ways. Finn and Puck left the room almost immediately, as neither of them had bothered to bring any of their books with them, while Rachel and Quinn had to pack their things up before leaving. Rachel could have sworn she was imagining it but for just a moment she thought she had seen Quinn's eyes lingering on her for longer than usual. Just in the blink of an eye though … it was gone and she would never know if Quinn had looked at her at all or not. But before Rachel was able to decide if she was hallucinating or not Quinn was already walking out of the classroom. She sighed and left to go home, surprised that Finn hadn't said anything to her this time or waited around to ask her to talk yet again. She supposed she would just count her blessings.

X

Rachel was almost out of school before she realized something rather important, well important to her at least. She turned right back around and went back into the school and decided to go right to her locker to see if there had been a new flower added to her locker yet or not.

She parked her car in the parking spot as close to the school as she could get without taking any of the teacher's parking spots. She made a mad dash into the building and rammed into none other than Quinn Fabray, who had been walking down the hallway with her cheerleading bag. To Rachel's surprise Quinn didn't say anything scathing to her in the least and actually sounded … nice. She shouldn't be that surprised though because even though Quinn was on top after telling Sue Sylvester about Santana's boob job she hadn't reverted to sophomore year Quinn. She was still kind … well, kinder, to everyone in Glee and was still friends with Mercedes. She was actually still living with Mercedes and working part time to make money to both pay for her Cheerleading expenses as well as for gas and other things necessary for the car she had. Maybe Quinn had finally found some humility or something like that because she still ruled with an iron fist when it came to the rest of the school.

"Hey, be careful Berry. If it had been Santana she would have chewed you out for that." Quinn said softly. "Well, see you around." Quinn added before Rachel could even respond yet again. Rachel wanted to ask her to stop for just a moment but then she stopped herself and continued on her path to her locker with only slight hesitation. Rachel did manage to call out to Quinn to tell her to have a nice evening before she ran off on her original path again.

After walking down the long hallway she finally reached her locker and put in the combination with only the slightest uncertainty, wondering what she would find on the other side. She pulled the lock open and took it out to open her locker and looked inside to see that no new flower had been placed on top of her books. She felt the disappointment acutely as she stared for a moment longer at her books and everything else inside looking the same way as when she left it. But then another thought struck her … how did her admirer know her locker combination to get inside and place the flower and note inside? Rachel hadn't ever noticed someone being close enough to her to ever see her actually put her locker combination in so she could open her locker up.

This last thought actually caused Rachel to waiver in her wonder over who this secret admirer was and how they knew her lock combination. Rachel was sure that she would have noticed if someone unusual was hanging around her locker to see her put the combination in since they'd have to be quite close to see her putting the numbers in and they'd have to do so quite close and with the right timing to see all of the numbers go in. The only person Rachel could think of who _might_ know the combination would be Finn but she didn't think he would be observant enough to actually pay attention long enough to watch her put all of the numbers in considering how easily distracted he was by anything and everything in the world.

"Who would … who could have …? I wonder if maybe … no, no, no, that can't be it." Rachel muttered to herself before deciding to leave things at that and just leave now and go home and perhaps wake up earlier than usual to investigate early tomorrow morning before any other students would have any time to come in. She was sure that if she came at some ungodly hour … perhaps at six in the morning, she'd be able to narrow down the likely suspects with F as any kind initial in their names by seeing them open up her locker and catch them putting a flower in her locker. It was her best bet right now. She nodded as she left the school again.

If Rachel had only just been paying more attention she would have seen that someone had been watching her the entire time and had been waiting for her to leave. If Rachel was only the tiniest bit more observant she would have realized that none of the other Cheerios were actually around and that Quinn had attended Celibacy Club before after school Cheerios practice and that she was the last student inside of the school other than herself. But Rachel didn't and so the mystery continued.

X

As Rachel went to bed that night she wondered what flower she would find in her locker tomorrow if there was any flower at all … perhaps she could look up all of the local flower shops to see if any of them had a customer who had bought a bunch of different flowers recently. Perhaps she could ask if someone had become a recent regular. All of these thoughts consumed Rachel as she felt herself falling asleep to thoughts about who the secret admirer could potentially be.

_I just want to know who you are._

X

So here's the first chapter to yet another Faberry story and hopefully there are many more to come~!^^ Please review to tell me your thoughts!^^

姫宮光る


	2. Another Day, Another Flower

Chapter 2

Another Day, Another Flower

X

Rachel arrived to school a little bit later than she had wanted to because she accidentally slept in because of her phone alarm's wonderful snooze button. She hadn't realized that she'd even pressed the button at all in her sleep induced haze and now she was at school fifteen minutes later than she wanted to be. She noted that the student parking lot was rather empty other than all of the Cheerios' cars, which had a total of about twenty cars between them, and the one that was obviously Sue Sylvester's. Of course there were some cars in the faculty parking lot and so Rachel wondered if her secret admirer had already left her a flower in her locker yet or not. Maybe if there was a flower it might have been put into her locker after she left yesterday and the person had waited until the evening to put it in because she was quite sure none of the Cheerios would ever be interested in her in the least.

As Rachel walked up the front steps to the door closest to her locker she noticed that the Cheerios were starting to walk off of the field and were coming her way to go to their locker room. Was it really that late already? Rachel glanced at her pink watch to see that it was indeed already 7:15 and that Sue actually gave the Cheerios ample time to shower before classes. That was about one of very few merciful things about the Cheerios Coach but it was probably mostly because she couldn't stand the stink if they didn't get to shower properly after practices in the morning. Rachel felt a slight panic set in because it was early and there would be one there to protect her from the wrath of the Cheerios if they all decided to corner her and slushie her and so she moved into the building quickly. Though Rachel did not outwardly panic and run she did try make it look like she was in a hurry and walked briskly to a safe haven: an open classroom.

It took her a few seconds to realize that it was Ms. Holiday's classroom even though the teacher herself was not there at the moment and took the time to take a breath. She breathed in deeply and let her breath out slowly before taking a peek outside of the room to see if the hall was clear of other people. When it was evident there were no Cheerios outside waiting to slushie her she let out a relieved sigh and walked out into the hallway.

She was coming up to her locker now and almost as soon as she opened it another flower was resting upon her books with another neat note … except it was a little bit longer than the last one. This time the flower was a light, almost pale, pink and had many layers to it that opened up so elegantly. Her breath seemed to have been stolen by her as she looked upon the flower and all of its soft edges she finally picked it up and picked the note up to read it as she smiled softly.

_The Eglantine is known for its meaning of poetry_

_But none of these are nearly as sweet to me_

_As the thought of you returning my adoration_

_It would fill me with utmost glee and elation_

_Your secret admirer, F_

Somehow the flowery words and beautiful cursive seemed to excite her in ways that she had never felt before even though she didn't even know who was behind these flowers at all. It made her feel like she was actually desired by someone, that someone was actually interested enough to express themselves however privately it was done. She figured that whoever it was had to be extremely shy and that was why they weren't forthcoming about who they were and insisted on keeping their identity a secret like this. It just made it even more romantic in her eyes and she felt herself swoon a little at the fact that they had written her a poem along with the flower's meaning was another plus in her book! Not only was her admirer romantic but they were also poetic, which was romantic but also meant they were a lyrical wordsmith, and it made Rachel's cheeks flush with warmth and so many thoughts ran through her brain.

It hadn't even registered to Rachel that at least ten minutes had passed while she stood there, lost in thought about who her secret admirer was. It meant that some of the Cheerios who were quicker about showering and getting ready for the day had come out to their lockers for their things. And before Rachel could react she realized that she had been cornered at her own locker when it was slammed shut by someone she wasn't even aware of the presence of until that very moment.

Rachel looked over to her right, startled out of her reverie by a smirking girl. When she saw the face of three nameless Cheerios she didn't know she furrowed her eyebrows at them when they giggled at her. "Ooooh, look, it looks like manhands here has a secret admirer! And it looks like she's reading over the poetry of whoever it is pathetic enough to be interested in her!" And the Cheerio tried to snatch the note out of Rachel's hand but she was quicker and moved her hand away before the other girl could even so much as touch it and ruin it with her hand.

"I don't appreciate you insinuating that I am pathetic while you ridicule the person who is leaving me flowers and notes in my locker. Honestly, if you're that jealous of me _having_ a secret admirer I suggest you start being nicer to any potential romantic interest you might possibly come across in the future. Either that or you need to stop wearing two pounds of makeup and dying your hair that horrid, cheap blonde color like that. It really is bad for your hair and if you want to be able to keep any of it in the future I suggest you start taking better care of it." Rachel sniffed delicately after she finished speaking and only had the slightest smirk on her face at the other girl's reddening face. In fact, the further in Rachel got the redder the other girl's face became while the other two girls close to her actually whistled and commented by saying 'ouch,' and 'ooooh, burn,' in response to Rachel's slight tirade.

"Looks like we're going to have to put her in her place," the girl said as she moved even closer to Rachel in a menacing way. She grabbed Rachel's arm before she could react and pushed her against the lockers before another voice full of cold anger that brought shivers up her spine spoke up.

"What do you think you're doing?" Quinn's voice was so cold, so frigid that the other two girls were surprised that Lena didn't get frostbite from her tone.

"J-just t-teaching manhands here a little l-l-lesson Q-Quinn," she said nervously, her hands still wrapped around Rachel's tightly and roughly. Honestly Rachel was sure that there were bruises forming on her arms already and she almost smirked when she felt the other girl's grip on her tighten from blatant fear of Quinn's wrath. Rachel was even sure she felt the girl's hands trembling a little against her arms in fright of the HBIC standing with a bored look on her face as she examined her nails making her all the scarier.

"Did I ever tell you that you were allowed to do so? Did you ask me for permission to 'teach Rachel Berry' a lesson?" Quinn asked looking like she was bored out of her mind, giving the girls a false sense of security despite it all. The girl holding her lessened her grip only the slightest bit as she eagerly explained herself.

"N-no but I thought I'd do you a, a, a-a favor by um, intimidating her f-for you Q-Quinn." The look of hope was almost too much for Rachel and she rolled her eyes at the way the girl was acting despite the fact that her arm was going numb from loss of circulation despite the slightly slackened grip.

"I seem to recall something I said at the beginning of the year when I got my place back as Head Cheerio." Quinn paused and tapped her chin with her finger in feigned thought before she snapped her finger, as if recalling something, "oh yeah!" The girls collectively flinched when Quinn snapped her fingers and raised her voice only the slightest bit in exclamation. "I _distinctly_ remember calling a moratorium, a cessation, on the slushie war against _all Glee Club_ members. I didn't just … I don't know, imagine that did I? No, no I don't think I did … in fact I'm quite sure that even Brittany and Santana, if I asked them, would say that, yeah, they remember me calling the meeting and saying that in front of _all of you_ bottom pyramid girls. And, oh, silly me," Quinn chuckled softly like there was a joke only she was privy to before starting up again. "I even had all of the members of the Cheerios, Football, and Hockey team _slushied_ when they just conveniently forgot that fact the first two weeks afterwards until they learned their lesson _thoroughly_. I'm quite sure you girls aren't _defying me_ right now, are you?" Quinn asked with a saccharine voice. "I would hate to stain the uniforms again because last time it happened Sue wasn't happy until she found out I was just laying down the law with you under classmen. She looked at me with a proud gleam in her eyes and told me I reminded her of a young Sue Sylvester."

The other girls had progressively grown more afraid with each word dropping from Quinn's lips like poison but with that sweet, deadly smile on her face. Honestly, it was like looking at an angel but feeling as if the angel was really the devil in disguise. Rachel could feel sweat from the Cheerios' clammy hands as she _finally_ and _mercifully_ let her go. And almost too abruptly all of the feeling came rushing back into Rachel's arms and it left an uncomfortable tingling sensation running through as circulation came back suddenly.

"W-w-w-we're sorry Quinn, w-w-we didn't mean to u-upset you!" The Cheerio was practically begging for forgiveness with the way she was cowering and the other two Cheerios, though they hadn't done anything to implicate themselves, were trembling just as badly in fear. The other two girls were quick to interject that they hadn't done anything to Rachel whatsoever, leaving their fellow Cheerio to be the only punished party if they had to in order to save themselves from Quinn's wrath.

"We didn't do anything Quinn! Honestly, we were just standing here when she grabbed her!" They both spoke over each other in a rush to abandon their friend who had done wrong.

She gave all three of them a look that said none of them were getting out of punishments. "Oh, really now?" Quinn said with a condescending tone of voice as she once again looked down at her nails. "From what I saw, and I saw the whole thing, you two," she pointed at them individually, "stood by and did nothing while you," she pointed once again to illustrate her point, "intimidated and assaulted Rachel." She finally looked at all three of them with that too sweet and absolutely terrifying smile yet again. "I'll deal with you on the practice field later. I'm quite sure running suicides for an hour and a half for you two, while you run suicides until I tell you, you can stop will be all … for today." She gave them that smile again before her eyes cut into a cold, hard stare within a split second, "_get the hell away from here now before I make you_." She never once shouted and it just made her all the more intimidating and petrifying as the three girls ran away as quickly as their legs could carry them.

As soon as they were gone Quinn looked over to Rachel with a much softer expression with concern on her face. "Are you all right Rachel?" She was eyeing the rapidly bruising skin on both of Rachel's arm with worry, "it looks like it is hurting and bruising already. And she slammed you into the locker too didn't she?" Though Quinn was being so sweet and concerned Rachel had other thoughts forming in her head, making her wonder but she snapped out of it when Quinn stepped closer to her but still far away enough that there was a few feet between them.

"I-I'm all right Quinn, fine even. It's just … I'm just a little surprised that you put a ban on slushies for all of the Glee Club members. I'm surprised and … _proud_," Rachel added the last part when she saw a look of insecurity cross over Quinn's features. Rachel smiled at Quinn brightly as Quinn smiled back just the tiniest bit but Rachel could tell that it was genuine and happy.

"Thank you." Rachel could see the slightest tint of pink on Quinn's cheek as she thanked her. "Well, um, you should, you should probably go to the nurse's office to get that checked out t-to make sure you're really okay." Rachel thought it was cute that Quinn stuttered just the tiniest bit and smiled even wider.

"I should be the one thanking you for saving me Quinn. Those girls," Rachel shook her head, "they weren't frightening to me but they definitely don't know how to be loyal to each other with how quickly they turned on each other as soon as they were caught."

There was an almost awkward feeling pause between them before Quinn cleared her throat and spoke up, "you're welcome Rachel." And before Rachel could say anything else Quinn continued, "Well, I'll see you later in our classes together later." Rachel nodded and smiled as Quinn turned around to walk away from her yet again without any scornful, insulting words to be had and Rachel hoped it meant a friendship of some sort. She always hoped and wished for that.

X

Rachel was walking to the auditorium for lunch when she was stopped by Finn once again calling and running after her.

"Hey! Hey, Rach! Wait up a minute!" He called as he caught up to her in no time with his long strides, causing Rachel to curse his tall stature … again. Only in her own mind of course though.

"Yes Finn?" She asked haltingly, trying to remind herself that patience was a virtue and that patience in all things was a reward in and of itself.

"I was just wondering if you'd like to eat lunch with me in the cafeteria today since we haven't done that in a while." She opened her mouth to interrupt him when he pushed on before she even could, "you said we could be friends and you aren't acting like we are!"

She sighed and took a deep breath in, counted to ten, and let her breath out slowly before stopping in the middle of the nearly empty hallway. "_Friends_ don't badger each other to hang out. _Friends_ don't hang out with each other _alone_ while doing activities that constitute a _date_. _Friends_ also know that the word no means _no_ Finn." He gave her his wounded puppy look and she felt like a mean girl but she knew it was just him guilt tripping her like he had on numerous occasions when they'd fought while they were dating. "I need my time to myself, _by myself_, and I expect you to understand that as a _friend_ Finn. I won't talk about this again and I will rescind my friendship if you keep this up because I won't be pestered by your need to 'hang out' with me like this Finn." And with that she continued on her way while Finn finally left her alone.

Not quite making it to the auditorium yet she was interrupted by someone else, someone she wasn't expecting.

"So I heard that Quinn put up a moratorium over you specifically when some girls attacked you this morning and cornered you." Santana said in a matter of fact tone as she leaned against a locker.

"Yes, that did happen, why?" Rachel asked warily as she watched Santana examine her nails nonchalantly.

"I'm just saying. I know why Quinn's doing it but do you?" Santana finally looked at Rachel and the way she was looking at her was decidedly different. Rachel wasn't sure what her look meant but it seemed to say that she knew something that Rachel didn't.

"No … I just know that she's been nicer than usual, friendly even." Rachel was curious about where this was coming from. It wasn't as if Quinn had explained her behavior to her earlier. She only said that she banned the Cheerios from slushying any Glee Club members from now on.

Santana smirked, "so you really don't know huh?" She didn't wait for an answer though Rachel did shake her head, "something as obvious as this, and it really is right in front of your face and you can't even tell. I mean … girl can't be any more obvious than she's already been, seriously." Santana chuckled a bit, "I always thought you prided yourself in being smarter than the average bear and all of that jazz. Maybe you're lacking in the common sense department though."

Rachel felt like she should be offended by the implications but she didn't think Santana was trying to insult her for once. It seemed like she was a bit incredulous that Rachel hadn't caught on to something about Quinn instead of purposely trying to insult her intelligence. "I don't know what you're talking about in the least Santana."

Out of nowhere Brittany appeared and kissed Santana soundly on the lips, causing Santana to become slightly startled. "Brit, we're not supposed to do that in public yet. Just wait a few more weeks okay?" Santana said gently, smiling at Brittany. It was always a drastic change to see how Santana treated Brittany compared to everyone else.

Brittany pouted, "I know but I wanted to kiss you and no one else was around other than Rachel!" Brittany said with a big smile on her face.

"Okay Britt, thanks for being careful," Santana whispered as she leaned forward to give Brittany a soft kiss on the lips with a soft smile on her face. Brittany smiled widely in response before turning her attention to Rachel.

"What were you guys talking about?" Brittany asked with brightly.

"Oh, well, we were talking about Quinn actually." Rachel said.

"I was talking about how for someone so smart Rachel can't see what's right in front of her face." Rachel glared at her and Santana rolled her eyes at that but amended her statement, "we were kind of talking about Quinn, too. I still stand by what I said about Rachel not seeing what's right in front of her."

Rachel rolled her eyes at Santana disapprovingly while Brittany looked at Santana seriously, "San! You promised that you wouldn't interfere and to let her handle it like she wants to." Brittany had tried to whisper that but it was just loud enough for Rachel to hear it in the otherwise quiet hallway. "You shouldn't talk to Rachel about that anymore because you promised to let her handle it on her own and she made you _swear_ you wouldn't tell her anything about you know what." Brittany murmured urgently.

It left Rachel wondering and curious about just what it was they had promised to keep a secret and who exactly it was telling them not to interfere. And who exactly was the 'her' Brittany was referring to so surreptitiously? If Rachel didn't have such sharp ears from years of vocal training she wouldn't have heard Brittany so easily.

"I know Brittany. I just wanted to see if she had caught on to it yet or not and obviously she hasn't so now I can leave it alone." Santana's whisper was even quieter but Rachel could just barely hear it but she pretended as if she hadn't heard anything and gave them both suspicious looks with narrowed eyes. "Well, we're going to go to lunch now and you never saw us, got it. We're going to come out to the school in a few weeks but until then … you saw nothing, all right?"

Again, Rachel rolled her eyes but she nodded as she said, "your secret is safe with me. I'll be on my way now. Have a good lunch Brittany," she said with a genuine smile.

"Thanks! See you later Rachel!" And with that they were both gone leaving Rachel to wonder what exactly it was she had been witness to between their hushed conversations. She wondered if had anything to do with Quinn even though they never mentioned her by name. Rachel shook the thoughts out of her head and continued to the auditorium. She breathed a sigh of relief as she stood before the auditorium doors when she noticed it. She heard the sounds of a violin playing a song she'd never heard before in her life. It was so sad, a heartrendingly striking song. It was slow and gentle and the slowness somehow made it seem even more heartbreakingly beautiful to Rachel as she listened to the violinist play. She opened the door to the auditorium and her heart nearly lurched in her chest when she saw who was playing the violin on the stage. There were hardly any lights on but it was more than enough to illuminate the lone violinist on stage with her beautiful blonde hair and the sight was quite the oxymoron if ever there was one.

A cheerleader in the form of Quinn Fabray, blonde haired and hazel eyed, stood with a forlorn expression on her face as she played the song out to its entirety. As soon as the song was over she paused as she took a shuddering breath in and let it out slowly as a few tears escaped and fell down slowly and hotly on her cheeks. She put her arms down for a moment before she started playing another song that started off so softly Rachel almost didn't hear it from where she was standing. Rachel was sure that if she had been standing outside of the auditorium she would never have heard the start of this song at all because of how soft it was. Mesmerized. It was the only word that could describe how Rachel was feeling right at this moment as she watched Quinn move the violin bow so gently to make the soft notes that this new song seemed to require. The further into the song it got the stronger the notes became, building up to what seemed like a crescendo, a climactic moment in the song as it built itself up to this one note that seemed so loud and proud and still so achingly poignant somehow.

The sounds filtering through the nearly empty auditorium became soft once again as Quinn played the last part of the song that seemed to convey a bitter ending. This time Rachel couldn't help herself when she saw Quinn dropping her arms: she clapped as she herself cried. She had been moved to tears by the two pieces Quinn had played so beautifully, magnificently.

Startled Quinn looked up to see Rachel standing by the doors clapping for her with a look of awe on her face. Quinn's eyes were intense as she continued to stare at her with the most vulnerable look Rachel had ever seen on her face. It was even more vulnerable than the time when she had been pregnant and she had accidentally revealed the identity of Beth's real father.

"Wh-what are you d-doing here, Rachel?" Quinn asked the stutter something that Rachel was more than shocked by. Rachel had never known Quinn to ever stutter no matter what duress she was under and it was oddly … endearing to her. It was actually rather adorable to know and see the HBIC of McKinley High stuttering the way she currently was.

"I was just going to the auditorium to eat lunch here today Quinn." Rachel beamed as she walked further into the auditorium and smiled even wider as she approached the stage. "I usually eat in the choir room but I was thinking of practicing something in the auditorium instead. I didn't know you played the violin let alone as beautifully as you do! That was, honestly, that was more than amazing and the songs you played were breathtakingly beautiful despite how poignant they were. I can't help that I was moved to tears by how wonderfully you played those songs, how emotionally charged your performance of those songs were. It was simply moving and I was wondering how long you were going to keep your skills as a violinist hidden like that Quinn." Rachel spoke far too quickly for the still entirely stunned Quinn to catch up or even so much as interject with a few words.

"Um … thank you and … I was never going to let anyone know about it actually. Not even, not even Brittany or Santana know that I can play the violin. They know that I can play the piano but that's only because my father forced lessons on me when I was younger and they were around more often than more recent years. I think it was around middle school when we stopped hanging around each other as much and I started learning to play the violin then. So … you're the only person who knows other than my … my parents." There was so much regret and melancholy in Quinn's voice as she hesitated over referring to her parents as such. It made Rachel's heart ache to see how dejected and sad Quinn still was by her parents' abandonment of her. Rachel never realized how much it truly affected Quinn until this very moment because of how strong and invulnerable Quinn made herself out to be no matter what happened around her. Quinn always made it seem as if even if the sky were falling down she would still walk around with an unwavering calm. It was at times like this Rachel realized that it was all a front and that Quinn was still a teenager like her even if she didn't act like one.

"Well … I apologize for disturbing you while you were playing so I'll leave you alone now." Rachel looked like she was about to turn around and leave but she paused before inquiring, "If I may … might I ask what songs you were playing earlier? They were just so beautiful and, despite their poignant nature, quite relaxing." The way her eyes were staring into Quinn's caused a lump to form in her throat before she replied with a slightly huskier voice than her already low alto.

"I played two songs. The first one is called _Man of the World_ and the second piece is called _READY_ but it … the songs are made up of other instruments so mine … mine is an inadequate version to the beauty of how the composer created it to be. There is a main violin, the first chair essentially in an orchestra, and a second violin playing as an undertone as well as a viola and harp as parts of the undertones as well in the first song _Man of the World_. As for the second song, _READY_, there needs to be at least another four or five violinists playing for the song to sound anywhere nearly as beautiful as the composer's work. There is also need for a trumpet, a harp, and cymbals to complete it. You should … you should look it up if you want to know how much more beautiful these songs truly are with the accompaniment necessary to play the song completely and properly."

Quinn paused, "these songs, though sad, sometimes help remind me that though I've lost a lot the last year … there is hope for me yet. I know that the first song is more melancholic than the second and that's why I play it first … to show that though I am lost, though I feel sad there is always hope and the second song has that hope in it. As it builds up to the middle part after starting off so softly, so weakly, it grows stronger and stronger leaving me feeling as if I, too, am building myself up with hope and strength I thought I'd lost a long time ago. That's what these two songs mean to me."

It was surprising to Rachel to see Quinn passionate about something because it seemed as if despite the fact that Quinn was an active member of many school activities she only seemed to enjoy one. Obviously Glee Club was an outlet for almost everyone in the club but to see that Quinn was capable of playing such beautiful and heartrending music made Rachel admire her even more for it. She, herself, could only play the piano at an intermediate level, playing Chopin was hardly a walk in the park and Rachel had yet to master any of his difficult pieces.

"I … I never knew you were so passionate about music Quinn." Rachel wavered for a moment before she spoke up again. "If … if it's all right with you … would it be all right if I stay here to listen to you play some more? You're quite good at it and your music is just so … so beautiful and soul-baring I can't help but wish I could listen to it a little more."

Quinn thought it over for a long, pregnant pause before she nodded her head ever so slightly and watched as Rachel walked over to the stage slowly even though her face showed much excitement. It was actually rather cute that Rachel was trying to hide her excitement Quinn thought as she settled down on the stage floor to watch as Quinn once again took her violin up to play once again. The next song she played was much more upbeat and seemed rather nostalgic and reminiscent instead of the much more sorrowful songs from earlier. Rachel sat back and nearly forgot to breathe, let alone eat, as she watched in rapt fascination as Quinn played with a peaceful and concentrated look on her face. Rachel had never felt closer to the girl playing her violin so skillfully.

X

Another day passed and she received yet another flower from F once again and she smiled as she picked it up. This time it was a gorgeous blue flower that brought a feeling of giddiness out of Rachel as she eagerly picked up another note from her secret admirer.

_This flower is called Ipomoea, otherwise known as the Morning Glory, something I find quite fitting for you Rachel. This flower symbolizes affection or states that I am attaching myself to you. In all honesty I've liked you for very many years but I never had the courage to actually act upon my feelings before now. I realized after I saw you with Finn Hudson on your arm for nearly an entire year before you broke up that if I don't act now … I may never have a chance to tell you how I really feel before we graduate in just a little more than another year and it would be too late then. I apologize in advance for all of the mystery but I have yet to work up enough courage to reveal myself to you, to tell you who I really am. I also know that you've been trying to find me leaving these flowers at your locker in the morning and after school is over. I won't tell you not to do so but I do ask that you please be patient and allow me the time to work up my courage to reveal myself to you when I am ready to do so._

_As always, you have my affection,_

_Your secret admirer F_

Rachel wondered how her secret admirer knew she was coming to school earlier and staying after school later just to see if she could catch her admirer in the act. Every time she had waited around she had tried to do so inconspicuously by hiding in empty classrooms or even around the corner of the hallways at school in the hopes of catching a glimpse of who her admirer might be. However, after reading this note from her admirer she realized that it was a bit selfish of her to try to figure out who they were before they were even ready to tell her their identity.

Just reading over the impeccable penmanship her secret admirer had almost nearly convinced her that it had to be another girl and not a boy. The writing was just too beautiful and well written to be a boy's writing, not that she was assuming. It was just a fact that boys their age didn't care what their handwriting looked like even if they were turning in an assignment and the teacher couldn't even read their writing.

As she moved down the hallway to her homeroom she caught Quinn's eye and she saw a small smile twist up at Quinn's lips when their eyes met. Rachel beamed in response and gave Quinn a quick wave before she disappeared into her homeroom classroom. She almost forgot about her secret admirer as she thought about how amazing her lunch with Quinn had been the day before in the auditorium. She felt as if they had taken a few steps towards becoming friends after yesterday's encounter. It made Rachel beyond happy to finally have a chance to be friends with Quinn after everything that happened the year before.

Rachel wasn't sure why but it felt as if everything was falling into place for her this year. Maybe junior year wouldn't be as bad as she thought it would be with a secret admirer leaving her flowers everyday and a tentative friendship with Quinn forming. She hadn't been expecting either of these things and she wasn't sure which part she hadn't expected less between having a secret admirer and a budding friendship with none other than head cheerleader and _the_ HBIC Quinn Fabray. But in all honesty what more could Rachel possibly need or want with both of these exciting prospects?

The smile on Rachel's face didn't lessen at all for the rest of the day as she attended her classes and awaited the next day and subsequently the next flower to be delivered to her awaiting locker. Not only did Rachel have a secret admirer she also had a new friend, a friend she had wanted to get to know for several years. Just thinking about how Quinn could be considered her friend now made Rachel smile even wider. Things could only get better from here, especially if her secret admirer made an appearance and confessed to her in person finally.

X

Another chapter and I would like to know what your thoughts on this story are everyone!^^

姫宮光る


	3. Curiosity

Chapter 3

Curiosity

X

It had been well over two weeks since that first flower had been delivered into her locker and she was quite sure she was falling in love with her secret admirer. She was also developing a budding friendship with Quinn. Quinn, who had come out of nowhere it seems, was being so nice to her and started hanging out with her more and more often during school. Unsurprisingly the student body was reeling just as much as Rachel was from the positive and kind attention Quinn had been giving her since two weeks ago. Not only had Quinn defended her without her knowing when she got her position as Head Cheerio back but she was also making Rachel's head spin with her playful and carefree side. It was quite miraculous, if Rachel was being truthful, that Quinn was actually okay with being friends with her considering how she couldn't seem to stand her the year before. It seemed to have come out of nowhere but that was something that might have been long overdue considering their history.

Rachel was keeping a running collection of the various notes she had been given and was putting them into a little bin she was using to keep them in now. It had been every single morning without fail and she smiled as she recalled some of the sweet flowers and notes she had received that particularly stood out to her.

A darker shade of purple was the color of the Wild Rose-Tree flower and its meaning of Poetical Person were taken to a whole new level.

_Even though you don't know me_

_You're the only person I ever see_

_I always look at you so clearly_

_You're someone I hold so dearly_

_Though you want to see who I really am_

_I just need you to hold on and understand_

_I'm really stuck here, in a bind_

_Wondering if you'd really be mine_

There was also a beautiful pink flower called a Peach Blossom that she was told meant 'I am your captive.' It made Rachel's heart race and her crush on her secret admirer grow even more to see that they felt this way. She truly did feel like she was falling in love with someone she didn't even know and she could only hope that they would reveal themselves to her soon. It was such a bold statement.

_Do you realize that I am your captive in love?_

_I thank God everyday in the heavens above_

_That you were born and came into my life this way_

_I think about you all of the time every single day_

_There's nothing I want more_

_No one else that I adore_

_Words can't even describe how much I feel_

_I am your captive and I hope this is real_

And this last one made Rachel giddy and faint with all of the possibilities with something she could not mix up with anything else. There was no way she could possibly have read into any of these flowers wrong with this most recent flower. A light purple Mimosa awaited her this fine morning and the message was loud and clear: Secret Love.

_I can't say this any other way anymore_

_You're my love, someone I love to the core_

_Secret love you may be but I hope, I pray_

_That you will be mine to hold close someday_

_Your smile is brighter than any sunshine_

_Your laugher is so very sweet and divine_

_Your voice as you sing makes me want to call you mine_

_And your beauty is unparalleled, leaving me so very blind_

Rachel had never felt more wooed in her life as she did in this very moment. It seemed that whoever her secret admirer was they really were a lyrical wordsmith because they definitely had a way with words and Rachel felt her heart couldn't take the sweetness anymore. She really wanted to find out who the admirer was. But then … her thoughts trailed to Quinn who was so sweet these days. Quinn who was serious about the moratorium she put on any and all slushies being thrown at the Glee Club members but she was even more vicious in her defense of one Rachel Berry. It made Rachel so happy to see Quinn nonchalantly express her displeasure of any single person coming near Rachel with ill intent. Someone had actually been brave enough to come within a foot of an unsuspecting Rachel when she was at her locker looking at another flower when suddenly there was slushie all over the floor. But it wasn't covering Rachel, to her own surprise. It had been all over Karofsky, much to his confusion and humiliation. He actually screamed when the icy drink splashed him in the face and his eyes stung with it as he stood in stunned shock before turning to a stoic Quinn.

"Wh-what … what did you do _that_ for?" He asked with barely suppressed anger in his voice. "That was … that was _mean_ a-a-and it _hurts_, stings like a bitch right now. It was like … I felt like I was bitch slapped by an iceberg and my eyes feel like they're on fire!"

"Well then, you know how it feels to have someone throw one on you now, don't you? Is it unfair? Am I being, _mean_, was it you said?" Quinn asked rhetorically, not allowing him to answer. "If you think for one second that this humiliation and pain is anything _close_ to what you've already inflicted upon me and anyone else you deem is a loser then stop. For years you've been doing this to a lot of people, people who don't deserve this crap, this _assault_ that you put them through simply because you think that this is 'fun', that it's entertaining to you." Quinn spoke mirthlessly as she continued on. "Well, I'm changing things around her. You think this feels like being bitch slapped in the face like an iceberg then imagine it happening to you everyday now because that's what I'll do to you every time I see you with that cup in your hands from now on. If you so much as even _think_ about stepping out of line, toeing out of line, even the _tiniest_ bit … be prepared for ten of those in your eyes like you did to me last year. Now walk away and think about that."

Karofsky couldn't stop staring at Quinn like he couldn't understand what she was saying. Of course he _did_ understand the message loud and clear, seeing as the message was currently sliding down his face and starting to get sticky on his skin, but that didn't mean he wanted to. He wasn't sure if he was hearing things or not and when Quinn blinked at him when he had yet to move he felt himself grow warm with humiliation.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" He yelled, "This isn't fair at all!"

"And, you somehow think that you doing this for _more than_ two years _is _fair at all?" Quinn asked with that same calm still in place but slightly on edge. Karofsky knew he was playing with fire but he just _didn't understand_ what Quinn was trying to say to him. Was she really suggesting an end to slushying people? Was that really happening right now? Was this real life right now?

"I-I w-well … they _are_ losers," he said callously, stupidly.

"They are _people_ who feel the same way you are right now, if not worse, because there is always the fear of going to school to deal with a_ bully_ like you. I was one of those people once but now, now I understand what I did wrong and I'm trying to atone, to make up for it by standing up to it, to you, now. I'm going to fix what I did wrong and I'm starting with _you_, Karofsky, and anyone else in this school who thinks they're tough shit for picking on _people_ who can't defend themselves. I'm setting precedence here, an example, for anyone who thinks of throwing a slushie at someone else in the future. If anyone else is stupid enough to try this tomorrow or the day after that will receive the same treatment as Karofsky from _me_, Quinn Fabray, Head Cheerio. I won't throw anymore slushies at anyone and if I see someone attempting to do so I will throw in your face like I did Karofsky and all of my Cheerios will be doing the same things." Quinn spoke with an authoritative voice despite the fact that she didn't once yell.

Rachel was smiling so widely at this Quinn even though she was being the HBIC right now, which Rachel had come to associate with torment. It was quite honestly the exhilarating to have someone like Quinn defend her honor the way she was. Rachel had never anticipated having Quinn as a friend would lead to this, this moment where she watched Quinn _change things_ at William McKinley High School and change how she saw her.

All eyes were on Quinn and Karofsky as everyone waited with bated breath to see what would happen next. Everyone let out a collective gasp as Karofsky backed down and walked away, leaving the Head Cheerio with shame marking his features. Rachel watched in awe as Karofsky walked away.

"Quinn, that was, that was simply amazing!" Rachel said with so much warmth and awe in her voice. "You're amazing." This was spoken with a much softer and affectionate tone of voice.

Rachel watched in amazement as a faint blush rose to her cheeks from the compliment as Quinn said, "thank you Rachel. But are you okay? I just … I couldn't stand the thought of Karofsky throwing that slushie at you, especially because you weren't even looking at him." Quinn's jaw clenched when she said the last part though it was obvious her anger wasn't directed at Rachel in the least.

A smile broke out on Rachel's features as she spoke once again, "I'm more than all right Quinn, although I don't condone violence I more than appreciate the fact that you protected me from that slushie Quinn. I … I really like the Quinn I've been getting to know these past two weeks … in fact I'd say we're friends now … if that is uh, okay with you, Quinn."

There was an unreadable look on Quinn's face for a moment but Rachel could swear she could see the tiniest hint of sorrow in Quinn's eyes. "We're definitely friends Rachel and I … I'm sorry I ever made you doubt that because of my past treatment of you. I'm sorry about a lot of things and honestly … what I'm sorry for the most is how absolutely cut throat and ruthless I was to you in the past when you never deserved any of it so I'm going to make things right. I'm starting that right now and I don't care how long it takes for those Neanderthals to understand that I'm serious about this, I'll make them all learn." There was a fire in Quinn's eyes and Rachel found herself feeling extremely touched by the intensity of Quinn's hazel eyes were right at this moment, intent on making a difference. There were even flecks of gold in her eyes that really, _really_ made Rachel aware of just how serious Quinn was about all of this. Rachel was amazed by all of this change in Quinn's demeanor. In fact Rachel could even say that she was really quite taken with Quinn's amendment and much sweeter version.

"It's okay Quinn. You can't change your past, but you can let go and start your future. I'm quite sure I've heard you say that before and I stand by that wholeheartedly Quinn, you're inspiring and I'm happy to be your friend." And the smile Rachel received told her that it was the right thing to say because Quinn Fabray was smiling at her, _really_ smiling a genuine, happy smile at her. Rachel felt a stronger sense of friendship with Quinn and those eyes, that smile and her chivalry made it easy to feel that way.

X

As soon as Rachel walked into the house her dad, Hiram Berry, greeted her and he could tell she was smiling more than usual. "You're in a very good mood today Rachel. Did your secret admirer leave you another note and love poem?" He teased her from behind the book he was reading in their open living room. The house was made so that all of the rooms were connected to each other in open space between the kitchen, living room, and dining room next to the entrance. The dining room table had a vase that Rachel kept adding her growing amount of flowers in as the days went by and more flowers kept coming in. "I'm surprised you haven't tracked this secret admirer down to make them confess to you in person yet."

Rachel's mouth dropped open in slack jawed indignation from her father's insulting but true observation. She stomped her foot where she stood with narrowed eyes at him. "Daaaaaaaaad!" she whined as she heard her father laugh at her antics from where he sat on the plush couch. "That … well … it's … I'm being patient because whoever my secret admirer is … and I'm convinced my admirer is a girl still, they … they asked for my patience because they're shy. They've told me before that they've had a crush on me for a while, a few years actually, but they never had the courage to tell me how they felt until they realized that we don't have a lot of time left before we graduate after next year. They said, they said that after they watched me with Finn for nearly a year they realized that they needed to act, to say something, about how they felt before it was too late. It was … almost desperate in the way they expressed that particular part of why they came out now with these secret flowers and notes. And because it wasn't until after school had been back on for a little bit more than two months in that this person confessed … it really hit me that they really must be terrified of confessing to me. They had to build up their courage for more than two months _just_ to give me a note and flower as a secret admirer so I … I'd feel bad if I forced them out of hiding before they were ready. I'm sure you can understand that dad."

Hiram Berry was actually a bit stunned and walked over to check his daughter's temperature. "Are you feeling all right sweetie? You are the girl we've raised for the last sixteen years, aren't you?"

She swatted his hand away with a giggle, "stop being so silly dad."

"That was … well that actually blew me away a bit sweetheart because that was so mature and you're, you're growing up too fast for me right now." Hiram gave Rachel a smile that seemed to touch on how much he wished she was little again. "I wish I still had more than two years before you're off going to college and leaving your daddies to stay here to miss you."

"I know, dad, I know." She gave him a hug and they stood there for a while before she broached another subject with him. "I … I have a new friend dad but I don't know if you'd like to meet them or not."

He pulled back from their embrace just enough to see her face more clearly. "What exactly do you mean by that, Rachel, sweetheart?" He asked with a quirked eyebrow that almost reminded her of the person she was currently thinking of with her infamous eyebrow raise that seemed to command the school entirely.

"I … I have been hanging out with a new friend lately, one that I've told you about before but you uh … well I'm not quite sure you'd approve of her." Rachel hesitated for a moment before she continued. "She's … someone you've met before, just in passing though, so I don't think you've spoken to her directly or not."

Hiram stood there, just content to hold his daughter in his arms as he thought about what to say. "Well, my question is why don't you think I'd approve of your friendship with her Rachel? Is there something about her I'd disapprove of in any way? Has she done something you don't think I'd like or something along those lines?"

"Well … you might … you might not exactly be approving of who it is I'm developing a friendship with all that much because of _who_ she is rather than what she's done. It could even be a mix of both but I'm not sure of that yet." As soon as Rachel said it, dread gnawed at Hiram's stomach.

"And … who might this person be whom I may or may not approve of?" He queried with the slightest wavering in his voice.

There was a moment when they both held their breath before Rachel took a deep breath and spoke her name out as she breathed out, "Quinn Fabray."

Nothing, not a single thing had prepared Hiram for this as silence rang throughout the house before he calmly asked, "Quinn Fabray … as in the Head Cheerleader who has been nothing but cruel and mean to you since middle school when she moved here all those years ago? Quinn Fabray who had you slushied and crying everyday you came home from school? Quinn Fabray who constantly insults your MySpace videos and taunts you cruelly like it's her favorite pastime? Surely you're _not_ talking about that Quinn Fabray right Rachel?" His voice had stayed calm as each rhetorical question came out of his mouth but there was definitely a slight edge to his tone as he spoke.

She knew nothing good would come of her mentioning this but she had no one else to turn to talk about these kinds of these other than Quinn herself and even then she didn't have her number. She had no choice but to turn to her dad and she knew that he would react this way so she was quick to explain.

"You don't understand dad! She's changed and for the last two and a half weeks she's been so nice to me, so very kind and caring. She stopped a group of girls on her squad from hurting me or humiliating me when no one else was at school yet two weeks ago! She even stopped a known bully from our school from throwing a slushie at me today when I was at my locker and couldn't see him coming toward me. Albeit I do have to say that I didn't approve of the fact that she had the slushie thrown on him instead she was doing so to prove a rather beautifully made point to the rest of the bullies of the school." Rachel was a bit breathless as she recalled the encounter, "dad, she was _so_ cool. Never once did she raise her voice as she spoke calmly to David Karofsky about how _unfair_ it was of him to throw slushies at other people without knowing how one felt himself. She _chastised_ him for how he's treated me in the past by throwing slushies at me for 'fun' and told him that from now on if no one heeds her moratorium they'll get the same treatment he got. Of course, she also said that she will no longer throw slushies at people unless they're holding one to throw at someone else. It was all quite chivalrous and I swooned a bit." Rachel had a faraway look in her eyes as she recounted the event to her father who still looked skeptical.

"How do you know that she's really serious about all of this, about being your friend, Rachel?"

"Well not only have we been talking for the last two weeks and hanging out a bit other than at school but she also told me afterwards how sorry she was for the last few years. She told me that my asking her if it was okay for us to be friends hurt her because she hurt me so much I even _had_ to ask. I can tell she's serious about this dad. The look in her eyes while she was talking about it today … the way her voice commanded for the hallway to watch and listen without her raising her voice once spoke volumes for her. I don't think I'd ever seen her so serious about something before dad. And she did this in front of _everyone_ in the hallway to see and _hear_ her speak. It was really quite incredible and I now wish I had actually filmed it on my camera to show you." Rachel sounded a bit petulant at the end. It caused a smile to blossom on Hiram's face to hear it.

Even though he wasn't quite sure what to make of hearing about his little girl being friends with one Quinn Fabray … he decided to give her a chance if she ever came over for dinner or something. Or even to have her over to just spend time with them as Rachel's … friend instead of tormentor.

"Well … you might just have to invite her over for a dinner with us one day so I can see what is so chivalrous and 'cool' about her, sweetheart," he said with a smile on his face.

There was a pause for a single moment before Rachel spoke again, "you mean it dad?" He nodded, "you'll really give her a chance?" He nodded again. "You're the best dad a girl could ever ask her … well one half of the best daddies a girl could ever ask for. I'll ask daddy, too if he's okay with her coming over for dinner one day. I'll have to wait and see."

"You know we are!" They both smiled at each other for a moment, "well … I'm not sure how daddy will feel but I'll … try to give her a chance if she ever comes over for dinner or just to 'chill' with you at the house." As they stood there they were both thinking the same thing: daddy was a much tougher person to convince between the two of them. Time would tell.

X

Dinner was being served at the Berry residence when the subject came up, the subject of Rachel's friendship with Quinn Fabray.

"So … Rachel has a new friend she would like to ask us about having over for dinner one night." Hiram spoke it as nonchalantly as possible to try to ease Leroy into the upcoming displeasure he might feel about who the new 'friend' in Rachel's life was.

Leroy looked up with interest from his delicious desert of homemade apple pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top and a drizzle of caramel. "Oh, and who might this new friend be Rachel, dear?" He asked with a smile on his face. Rachel had never talked about any friends from school before, the occasional remarks about Kurt and Tina didn't really count. There were only friends from dance class who lived about half an hour away from here if not a little farther away.

Rachel seemed anxious though and that piqued Leroy's curiosity even more about who this new friend was. "It's uh … well … you've heard about her from me before."

When it didn't seem like Rachel was going to elaborate further Hiram stepped in a bit with gentle guidance. "Yes, we've definitely heard about her new friend before Leroy. She's in Glee Club with you right, sweetheart?" He asked even though he knew the answer to that already.

"O-oh, yes, yes she is. She's uh … she's also part of the Celibacy Club, too, this year daddy. She's got quite the lovely voice, I'm sure you've heard her singing before." Rachel spoke almost stiltedly with her nervousness which caused Leroy to be even more on edge. If this girl was really a friend why was Rachel so apprehensive when speaking about her?

"And, uh, what is your friend's name exactly, Rachel?" He questioned with the slightest hint of amusement and worry in his voice and in his face as he watched Rachel struggle to form words. It was as if the words were stuck in her throat somehow and wouldn't come out.

"H-her name? R-right, h-her n-name is uh, is … well, her name is quite lovely and it's … Quinn Fabray."

The reaction was almost immediate and just how she thought it would be: sharp. "Quinn … Fabray is your new friend, Rachel? Quinn Fabray, the Head Cheerleader at school, who tormented you for years on end, is your new … friend?" And the way he spoke told much more than the calm but sharp tone of voice he said it with. It made Rachel cringe as she heard it despite the fact that it wasn't being directed at her in the least.

"Y-yes," she stuttered but was quick to continue when her father looked at her unhappily with his mouth open, ready to deny her request. "You don't understand daddy! She's changed a whole lot since last year when she … well, when she was pregnant and being slushied like us she came to the realization that it wasn't right to bully someone else with that. In fact she actually has done a lot in the last two weeks to show me how much she _means it_ when she says she's going to change things at school for the better. She even stopped a bully from slushying me earlier today daddy! I just … I just want you to give her a chance to get to know you so you can see what I see. She's trying really hard to be nicer to me and to be my friend." Rachel said softly, an affectionate tone of voice taking over her as well as a soft smile.

Leroy Berry watched the emotions playing on his daughter's face curiously before he eventually, reluctantly nodded his approval. "You're allowed to invite her over to the house only, and I mean _only_, if one of us is present in the house."

Though Rachel didn't like the stipulation her father put on the terms of agreement for allowing Quinn over to hang out … she agreed to it because then she'd be able to have a friend over. An honest to goodness friend who seemed to genuinely _like_ her as opposed to before with a few reluctant friends she'd had in the past. Kurt had only come over once before and Tina a handful of times over the last year since Glee Club started. Tina was the next closest thing Rachel had to a friend other than Quinn and she resolved to talk to her more often from now on.

"Thank you, daddy I really appreciate it! I'll make sure to invite her over one day this week when dad is at home too!" Rachel was already making plans and both of her fathers knew it just looking at her.

X

Rachel was smiling as she looked at her friend, _friend!_, conduct Cheerios practice on the field. Rachel had taken to watching Quinn and the other Cheerios on the field lately since she was always early to arrive at school anyways, always eager to read her secret admirer's lovely notes. Well, of course the flowers were a plus too since there was always a wonderful meaning to every flower she received from them. This morning's flower was a Gloxinia purple in color but with white tipped edges to it.

_Gloxinia, love at first sight_

_I love you with all of my might_

_I pray that you hear my plight_

_You make my hear soar in flight_

_The moment we met I felt my heart quake_

_I love you so much I'd put it all at stake_

_My only wish is that you won't think me fake_

_For if it is so, I know that my heart will break_

This next poem made her wonder why her secret admirer was saying such things, wondering if she would think they were a fake for whatever reason. This poem was still romantic but it put her on edge pondering just who exactly they were. At least they did say that she was their love at first sight, that part was quite romantic indeed. Rachel smiled when Quinn noticed her sitting on the bench and waved at her with a soft smile on her face.

"Q! Stop gawking at Barbra Streisand junior and concentrate on making these pathetic girls a tiny bit more like perfection that you almost have before I cane them to get rid of my headache!" Sue's nearly demonic voice yelled into her megaphone. There was a pause before she screamed into it again, "YOU CALL THAT A BACK FLIP?! I call that a fish out of water flopping on land in need of more oxygen! Brittany, get over there and teach her what the difference between a backhand spring and a GOOD back flip is! Her imperfection and incompetence is giving me a headache right now! And you, Q," she pointed at her, "make sure to run the next half hour of practice while I go do something of more importance in my office! I can't stand all of the ineptitude standing on the field right now." And she stalked off without another word.

Almost as soon as Coach Sylvester was off of the field Quinn started commanding the girls to do various things before she came over to approach Rachel sitting on the bleachers.

"Hey, you came to watch practice again." There was a smile in Quinn's voice that excited Rachel more than she cared to admit.

"Yeah, well, you know all about my secret admirer leaving me flowers and I always want to get to school early to read the notes they leave me. Honestly though … I do kind of want to hang out with you more, too. You've been so nice and well … amazing. I can't believe how differently this year has gone from what my expectation of it was. I definitely can't complain though because you're my friend, my actual, and honest to goodness friend and I can't be any happier about it at all." Rachel's smile was infectious as she watched as Quinn's face twitched into a smile, too.

"Did you ever figure out who the 'secret admirer' is yet? You did say that they always sign it as 'F' at the end right?" Quinn asked, her curiosity had been piqued the moment Rachel told her about the secret admirer. Quinn's head was tilted in question and it reminded Rachel of a confused puppy and it was utterly adorable in her opinion.

Rachel thought about it before she answered, "no, not really. I know that it's not Finn Hudson or Rory Flannigan but that's about it for now. I mean … it looks like a girl's writing to me in every way possible from how neat and beautiful the cursive is to how they express themselves on each note they leave me. There's just no way a guy could ever be this sensitive nor have writing this neat in my opinion, Quinn."

There was silence between them as Quinn gave Rachel an appraising look. "Well … didn't you say that you wanted to get to school either much earlier in the day before school begins or wait a few hours after school to catch them leaving the notes and flowers in your locker? I mean … well … how do they even know your combination to begin with?" Quinn inquired with a slight furrow of her brow that Rachel found entirely endearing and so very adorable. Quinn was someone who was constantly surprising her in so many good ways now. The personality Quinn was letting shine through was so chivalrous, sweet, and charming to Rachel in every way.

"Well, I'm not sure how but all I hope is … when they finally have the courage to reveal themselves to me … I just don't want to find out that they're some creepy pervert. As long as they aren't Jacob Ben Israel levels of creepy, among other things, I think I can say that I would be willing to date them. Well, if they ask me out anyways and tell me that it's what they want to do." There was only a moment's hesitation before Rachel spoke again, "I want to tell them that I'd never judge them, no matter who they are, and the person I'm becoming familiar with is absolutely incredible. They're so poetic and romantic. They're also very consistent because they leave a flower and note in my locker every day without fail. I just … I just want to know who they are because they seem like such a sweet person to me, unbelievably sweet. But … this morning they expressed fear of me not believing them, of thinking that they're just a fake. They expressed doubt because they are scared of my rejection which makes me so sad for them."

Quinn listened better than anyone else ever had before. Finn would block her out, and it seemed like it was his favorite pastime when they were dating, and no one even let her finish anything she wanted to say except Quinn. And when she listened she always had a concentrated look on her face as she listened and looked at Rachel when she spoke as if she was the only person who existed in the world in that moment. Rachel liked that about Quinn a lot.

"I think … I think maybe you can reassure them somehow. Your secret admirer might be shy for good reason. They might doubt you because of something. You can reassure them by leaving them a note maybe? Or you could even give them your phone number or some way of contacting you so that you can talk to them and get to know them without any kind of face to face so they can build up their courage to maybe confess to you in person someday. That might just be the push they need to tell you who they are and why they started to give you flowers and notes in secret." Quinn was giving Rachel such solid advice she couldn't help but listen to every word with rapt attention. "You might even get to know them even better and get a better glimpse as to who they are and have a better idea of who they might potentially be. They might just surprise you by confessing after talking to you for a while."

Rachel thought it was a brilliant idea and started planning and plotting. "Thank you so much for the advice Quinn! I really appreciate it and I have to go since class homeroom will start soon and you need to finish your Cheerios practice now." Quinn just smiled in response and froze slightly when Rachel gave her a hug before she hugged her back gently for a moment before letting go.

"I'll see you in class later then, Rachel?"

The smile Rachel gave her was all encompassing. "I'll see you in class Quinn."

She turned around and left and so she didn't notice Santana watching as Quinn came back to direct the rest of Cheerios practice. "So … Q, do you think she's figured out who her 'secret admirer' is yet?" Santana drawled with the ever present smirk on her face.

Quinn didn't respond right away, "No, no she hasn't."

Santana laughed a bit, "She can't see what's right in front of her very eyes? The dwarf is supposedly a little bit psychic with a sixth sense or whatever but she hasn't even figured it out yet. Her freakishly big nose should have been able to sniff out the trail of flowers already."

"Stop insulting her Santana! She's my … friend now all right? I won't tolerate it and I'm still trying to make sure the rest of the school is toeing the line so that _you_ can get your _shit_ together and be out with Brittany. Don't forget that. I mean … I do have other reasons for it but you know that it's mostly for you because I don't know how this whole thing is going to turn out in the end but I do know I have your back. I'll always have your back even if you're a bitch for no reason sometimes and make Brittany cry because of it."

The uncomfortable look on Santana's face spoke her guilt for her even as she said, "I didn't mean to make her cry and you know that."

"I do know that and that's why I'm trying even harder to reform this school, to take away the power those slushies and jocks have. I'll do it for you guys."

And somewhere else Rachel was still thinking and dreaming of what her secret admirer would look like when she finally found out who they were. Rachel sighed as the bell rang for a five minute warning for students to come in for homeroom period.

X

And this next chapter was nearly 6,300 words and actually delved into Quinn's side of things a bit and her motivation for changing things around WMHS. Please R&R to tell me your thoughts about this chapter!^^

姫宮光る


	4. Brave

Chapter 4

Brave

X

It seemed like the jocks were getting the message of how serious Quinn was about them not being able to slushie people because there hadn't been any slushie incidents in the last month since that incident in the hall maybe two or three weeks ago. At first they didn't take it seriously with Quinn's threat about them not slushying Rachel and had tried again after a few days, thinking it would blow over. As soon as someone started walking in Rachel's direction with a slushie cup in hand they didn't make it within five feet of Rachel before they felt an icy sting on their face and in their eyes. They gasped in horror of the feeling of being bitch slapped by an iceberg as most of the school watched with bated breath to see what would happen next. It was Quinn, HBIC, yet again throwing the slushie up into these jock's faces as if it was nothing after all. It seemed to instill more fear into the student body as a whole to see it done firsthand by the Head Cheerleader.

"I thought you would have learned from other's mistakes Azimio Adams. I mean … honestly I thought you at least _had_ a brain and that it functioned a _little_ bit, enough to know not to do that considering last time it was your best friend _Karofsky_ who made that mistake. I'm laying down the law here and if you get in my way you'll face Sue Sylvester's _wrath_ not just my own. You think Sue is scary? Let's just say she probably wouldn't be _nearly_ as harsh as _I_ will. She doesn't give a shit. I, however, give enough shits to make sure that _you_ will _listen_ to me or face the consequences and whatever she says and does will _pale_ in comparison." Quinn said as she observed her nails, as if bored by the entire situation and the jock standing before her looking on in shock at something his brain had yet to comprehend. He was still letting it sink in that he was covered in Cherry Slushie right now and that he wasn't imagining the stinging feeling in his eyes.

He moved into action and raised his fist, about to hit Quinn, when quicker than he thought possible _she_ punched _him_ in the face and it _HURT_ like _HELL_. He reared back and held his face in pain. "OW!" He yelled, screamed.

"You think because I'm a girl much smaller than you I can't hit back if you decide to hit me?" Quinn asked, examining her hand to see the red on it and seemingly just trying to rub the slushie off of it. "I don't think so. I might be smaller than you but I'm _not_ defenseless. Like I told you, I will make your life _hell_ because I'm a third degree black belt in various martial arts training. I can do flips from where I stand and kick your teeth in if I really wanted to; make no mistake of that Azimio. So run along now before I let everyone see you getting beat up by a white girl like the pansy you are."

He just didn't get it though, he tried to swipe at her again with another fist that was promptly blocked with her fist and she kicked him in the side of his fat body. He cried out but tried to punch her with his other arm, something she merely ducked under, and kicked him back against his stomach, making him stumble back several feet away from her, to the hallways amazement.

"You _BITCH!_ I'm going to fucking _murder_ you," he screamed as everyone gasped in the hallway at hearing a death threat.

This time it wasn't Quinn who spoke but Rachel, the person who was supposed to be the recipient of his bullying originally. "I'm going to report you for that. You absolutely _cannot_ threaten someone else's life like that no matter how angry you are Azimio Adams and I am going to report you to the _police_ because this entire hallway is witness to you saying so. So you better calm yourself right now before you say anything else you regret."

His eyes widened in horror at the realization that he could and probably _would_ get in trouble for saying something like that.

Santana was standing off to the side, silently, until she stepped in. "You want to _murder_ my best friend? Don't make me laugh. My cousin's a cop and I recorded this whole thing on my phone here," she showed it to him. "I'm going to send this to him and see how lightly he takes to you threatening _my best friend_ like that you puta!"

Azimio paled and he started crying though no one could see his tears through the slushie still covering his face. "I-I'm sorry, I-I didn't mean it, I swear I didn't! I was just, just mad!"

And after that incident no one else really dared to mess with the order that the HBIC put out on any and _all_ slushying. There was a new order in McKinley and everyone was just trying to adjust.

X

Santana and Brittany were walking down the hallway, pinkies linked as per usual, but what surprised everyone was the affectionate display at one of their lockers. Santana stopped in front of her locker and deliberately gave Brittany a sound kiss that was slightly more than a simple press of the lips much to everyone's surprised shock. They kissed for just about a minute before pulling away and smiling at each other before Santana opened her locker and pulled a few books out as if nothing was amiss. When she turned around she just effortlessly walked down the hallway with Brittany by her side.

An idiot managed to stop them from their path, "hey, Lesbos! Why are you doing each other when you can have a _real_ man show you a good time?" He asked, grabbing his junk obscenely, as if it was enticing in any way whatsoever, and leering at them before adding, "We can all show each other a good time if you want." Rick the 'stick' was as disgusting and vulgar as ever and he wondered why he was a virgin.

"There will _not_ be anything going on with you because from what I can see there's nothing _there_ that can interest me because of how _small_ it is. Even then I'm sure you wouldn't know what you were doing anyways. So you best be stepping out of my way before I go all Lima Heights Adjacent on your greasy ass." Santana said with a fierce glare aimed at him so hot he should be sweating buckets right now.

He laughed as he spoke, "Ooooh, was that supposed to be a threat?" He laughed again as he took a step closer which was the wrong move because a few seconds later he was curled up on the ground reaching notes guys could only reach if they had their junks kicked the way Santana kicked it just now.

"Anyone else want to 'man up' and 'show me' how it's done? Because if any one of you idiots think you can make me straight when I was born gay … well you have another thing coming because that's something you _won't_ be doing again if you try." Her threats were heard loud and clear, almost as clear as Rick's impossible high note from the hard kick to the privates. She gave him one last look before saying, "pathetic," and walking away with her girlfriend in tow to their class.

"San, you're so brave," Brittany whispered into her ear before pressing a _very_ firm kiss to Santana's lips before they entered their classroom, almost pressing her against the row of lockers next to it. Santana's only response was to smile brightly and give her a chaste but deep kiss back.

Almost everyone in the hallway was surprised and shocked because, yes, they all suspected a relationship between the two cheerleaders but no one thought they would ever confirm it. No one had ever thought that Santana, more so than Brittany, would be the one to reveal the true nature of their relationship and it just came as such a shock.

After the initial shock wore off though, everyone either continued to gossip or just went on with their day. So Quinn had called upon another new order at McKinley just like that. The first banned slushies from being thrown and the second that no one was to bother her two best friends, _at all_ because of their relationship and it was sticking. It had been an entire month free of slushies now and the students of McKinley grateful for it in every way because there was no more fear of being the next target. There was also less drama since no one had to run and hide from being the next recipient of iceberg cold slushies. For the most part the students of WMHS were actually happy with the new order and the only naysayers were the ones who had dealt the drinks out. Of course they weren't happy but they wouldn't dare voice their complaints after having the drinks thrown at _them_ for once instead and saw the Head Cheerio beat up one of their own. He was the biggest of them, too, on the football team which just made it all the more humiliating and worse for the football team members.

X

Quinn was sitting in the auditorium playing on the piano idly during lunch when Rachel finally made an appearance, a happy smile on her face as she walked to Quinn. Quinn looked up but continued to play the song she had been playing as Rachel approached her happily. They smiled at each other before Quinn asked Rachel, "what's got you in such a good mood and smiling so giddily?"

Rachel's smile somehow widened even further upon hearing the question. "I was just reading the note my secret admirer left me … again, and it is just so sweet I can't stop smiling." Rachel responded. "I just wish that they would tell me who they are because it's been almost two months since they started giving me flowers and I'm surprised they haven't run out of flowers yet actually."

Quinn laughed a little over hearing Rachel ask that. "Well … maybe they have an infinite knowledge of all of the flowers in the world and they haven't run out of flowers to give you yet." Quinn's smile was warm and genuine and made Rachel's heart race with feelings of … friendship. There was a pause in speech, though she was still playing a song on the piano as if by heart and muscle memory alone, before Quinn asked tentatively, "do you have any idea who your secret admirer might be Rachel? Have they left you anymore clues about who they are or anything else that would give them away?"

A look of contemplation came over Rachel's features as she thought about it, _really_ thought about it and Quinn found it adorable. Rachel really was an endearing person when she wasn't in Glee Club competition mode … but even though Quinn found her cute despite being high strung. "Well," Rachel finally started with, "I haven't had anyone approach me about it really or watch me whenever I open my locker to read my new note and receive my next flower. I'm not sure they've ever really hinted at who they could possibly be except that they fear I'll reject them because they think I'll think their fake or insincere in some way. I'm not quite sure why but that's what it said in one of the notes they left me last month." She paused, "I have been thinking about it and wondering who they are, what they look like, what their interests are, and things like that. I keep wondering if we'll get along … or if they'll get tired of me because they haven't really spent all that much time with me, if any at all, despite their crush because they won't tell me who they are." Rachel looked a bit disappointed at that. Quinn couldn't stand how disappointed Rachel looked about it.

"Well … well maybe they're just too scared to tell you who they really are and they're trying to build up their courage to be brave enough to tell you who they are." Quinn said, as if that wasn't obvious enough for Rachel.

"I know that Quinn … I just … I wish they'd give me a little bit of a hint, something to go on, something to give me hope that they aren't just … a figment of my imagination or something like that. I just want something to tell me that they aren't going to keep themselves a secret for the rest of the school year and leave me waiting for them to tell me who they are. I know that bravery is not something that people come by, it's sometimes something a person is born with or build up to but I'm just going out of my mind wondering. I keep wondering who they are and if all of this is just … all I'll ever get from them." Rachel ended sadly, a little dejectedly.

Before Rachel could continue she felt arms wrap around her warmly, gently. "Don't give up Rachel. You might just be surprised by who they are and that might be why they're so afraid to confess to you in person so you know them. They might be just as afraid of rejection as you are someone they have expressed a fear of you finding them fake before. Your admirer might be scared of you not liking who they end up being and that's why they're hiding their identity from you like this." Quinn spoke soothingly and it calmed Rachel down a bit. "I'm sure they aren't making you wait because they want to but because they aren't comfortable enough to tell you who they are yet perhaps. Maybe you should sing a song during Glee to get your feelings out a bit." Rachel hadn't expected Quinn to become her friend let alone her confidant like this. It made Rachel smile happily at the thought that Quinn was finally, truly her genuine friend now. After all they went through last year her attempts at friendship finally came to fruition and it made Rachel's heart throb happily.

"Thank you Quinn. You've been an amazing friend … my best friend even throughout all of this and I … I never thought we'd get to this point but here we are." Rachel smiled at Quinn, "I'm so glad that we're friends Quinn. I couldn't ask for more than to be your friend. I'm going to get my thoughts together and pick out a song to sing in Glee just like you suggested. I hope … I hope in the mean time they give me some kind of sign that they are willing to tell me who they are eventually even if it's not right now or tomorrow. I just need something."

X

It had been three days since Rachel's talk with Quinn and there had been three more flowers for each day and today's particular note had Rachel's heart racing, pounding, and beating. This flower was a red Tulip and the meaning was clear in both the note and flower meaning.

_This red Tulip means a declaration of love and also asks for you to believe me. I know that it's been a little bit more than two months since I started giving you flowers to show you my admiration and you must be getting impatient with me. I'm not quite ready to reveal who I am yet but I will tell you something a bit of a hint. Please don't try to look for me yet. I do have a few clubs and after school activities I am a part of with you. We do have a few common interests with each other and we are both leaders of separate activities we don't participate in together. As you have several different activities you take part in I'm sure you will look closely at other people in those particular clubs in the hopes that you will see me and know who I am by how I react to you looking out for me amongst the other students participating in these activities with you. I know you want to know who I am, know who it is who is behind this secret admiration but I just can't tell you just yet and I'm sorry for that. I will tell you when I am completely ready, I promise you that Rachel. For now please allow me to remain your secret admirer, LF._

LF … this time her admirer added a second initial and it caused Rachel's heart to leap into her throat about who could possibly her secret admirer. This opened up a whole other path as well as closed several of them for Rachel. There were four people from Rachel's original list that had the initials of LF and of the four only three of them were actually in the order of LF while one had their initials as FL. Larissa Fretthold, Lloyd Flowers, and Lindsay Folder had their names match up with the initials correctly while Faridah Lawson would be the initials inversed. Rachel knew all of them from extracurricular activities that much she was sure of, but none of them struck her as secret admirer material. She saw most of these people on a nearly day to day basis from school alone and not any single one of them had ever shown any interest in her in particular and so Rachel just went along with her day deep in thought of who it could possibly be. This admirer was certainly testing her in ways she hadn't been tested before in terms of patience in finding out just who they were.

Rachel walked into Glee Club with determination set into her features and marking every step she took into the room. She was the first one to arrive and the next person sat down next to her, startling Rachel out of her thoughts with a gentle touch to her arm that had her looking up abruptly into steadfast hazel. Quinn's gaze was strong but warm. Rachel thought nothing of it because Quinn always seemed to have an intense kind of stare that Rachel was more than used to at this point. Rachel smiled warmly at Quinn before she spoke up. "I'm going to sing today like you suggested me to do the other day to get my feelings out. Of course, I'll leave the song as a surprise as per usual."

Quinn smiled, "of course. Surprises are usually better when they're unexpected in a good way for sure. There are such things as bad surprises but I'm sure yours will be a good one considering I don't think I've ever heard a bad performance from you before … well, other than the time you had laryngitis. That wasn't exactly your fault and it was … well, pretty funny actually," Quinn said, looking as if she was trying very hard not to crack up and hiding her amusement behind her hand.

"Quinn! I … I … please don't mention that again! I am mortified that you even brought that up! I wish that day could be erased from history because of the embarrassment! God, I couldn't have sounded worse if I tried right now!" Rachel smacked Quinn's arm when she heard a giggle escape from Quinn's hands. "It's not funny Quinn! It is very far from amusing and I want you to forget about it immediately!" Rachel's voice nearly rose to a pitch that Quinn was sure only dogs could hear at this point and it made the whole memory even funnier, causing her to outright laugh in her seat. Rachel's indignation just made it so much harder for Quinn to control her need to laugh.

"I'm sorry, I really am sorry but I can't stop laughing for the life of me right now Rachel. I-I, god, it was just too funny!" Quinn's laughter was at least slowing down but ever present.

Rachel scowled at Quinn as a few other Glee members came into the room. Some people were still eyeing them strangely because they still weren't quite used to their friendship. Sure, all of the Gleeks were more than a little grateful for the reform Quinn had put into effect over a month ago to ensure they were slushie free everyday now but it was still odd. They hadn't expected their friendship to come about in the way it had but here they were, giggling and laughing like old friends instead of newfound friends of barely two months. It was a surprise to most of the Gleeks but Finn Hudson especially didn't like it even if it seemed like no one else had caught on yet. Brittany and Santana were obviously already aware of Quinn's friendship with Rachel being real and Finn could see it in Quinn's eyes as she interacted with Rachel. He was smug in that he didn't think Rachel would reciprocate her feelings and come crawling back to him eventually.

"So … Quinn … I know I've said it before but … we need to hang out more and I was wondering if you were available to hang out at my house tonight or not and possibly have dinner with my parents? I just want to allay their fears about our friendship. They've not exactly heard great things about you from me before and so they're rather hesitant about our newfound friendship it seems. I just wanted to have you over tonight because it is a Friday and also to show them that they don't have anything to fear about our friendship at all! You've been such a great friend and I always knew that there was more to you than what you showed other people at school. I would love it if you could just come over to hang out for a bit and then have dinner with my fathers if it's not too much trouble." Rachel's expression was so earnest and Quinn had never been able to say no to Rachel no matter what it was she asked of her.

There was a pause before Quinn nodded her head in consent. "Excellent! I'll see you around … 5:30 then? I know your Cheerios practice runs a bit later on Fridays since I've sat in on one or two but she usually lets you out by 4:30 if not just a bit later."

"Yeah, that'd be fine since I would just shower here. I would just need to stop by my house for a few things before I come over and then I'm all yours until your dads decide whether they want to kill me or not." Quinn said jokingly to play off her nerves and reservations about dinner at Rachel's house with men who most likely hated her very guts.

Rachel scoffed but it came out weakly and not nearly as confident as it was meant to as she said, "They wouldn't kill you Quinn!" And then as a mutter under her breath she added, "at least I would hope not." Quinn heard her though and she had to roll her eyes at the fact that Rachel had thought that it was soft enough that she wouldn't be able to hear it considering their close proximity to each other. They _were_ sitting right next to each other after.

"I heard that Rachel. That doesn't exactly help with calming my nerves all that much … or at all really."

"I'm sorry! Forget I said that. I'm sure that you will be more than charming enough to win them over considering I know the _real_ you Quinn. I have confidence in the _real_ you and not who you want people to think you are and you've proven as much to me these last two months of slushie free hallways and students. It … it still amazes me some days that you did so much and that it _worked_ more so than that you tried. I'm … I'm very proud of you Quinn." Before Rachel could say anymore Mr. Schue came in about five minutes later than the rest of the club members, breezing in as if he hadn't been late at all. He immediately went to the whiteboard at the front of the room and wrote _Self-Expression_ on the board before launching into how sometimes when life got too hard expressing feelings through song can help through rough patches. He told them that he wanted everyone to think about what they wanted to sing over the weekend and start practicing their song choices by Monday.

"Okay, I want everyone to pick a name from the hat to decide partners. Whoever you pick will be your partner and make sure that if you accidentally pick your own name out you put it back in the hat and pick a different name!" He picked his hat up before starting from the end where Puck was sitting. "You're up Puck, go ahead and pick a name."

"I got Artie." He said simply and Mr. Schue moved on to the next person.

Mike drew Finn, who was obviously unhappy with his partner, Santana somehow picked Brittany's name out of the hat yet again, Kurt paired up with Mercedes, Rachel smiled at Quinn, pleased, Tina was slotted with Sam, Lauren with Joe, and that left Rory and Sugar to work together. Most of the Glee Club was more than satisfied with who they got paired up with but Finn sat in his unhappy corner, not exactly angry _because _it was Mike but more or else because it _wasn't _Rachel. He wanted to ask for a redraw but clamped his mouth shut when Rachel raised her hand after Mr. Schue gave instructions for everyone to begin strategizing and planning their performances.

"Yes, Rachel," Mr. Schue asked hesitantly, almost nervously.

"I just have a song I would like to perform that I planned on performing today if it would be amenable to you Mr. Schue." After Mr. Schue nodded his agreement Rachel took the stage and spoke to the room at large before performing, a preface to explain her current song choice. "I just want to express something that I think we can all relate to in this room because it's something that happens quite often in everyday life, holding back. Everyone holds back something for either fear of rejection or fear of judgment usually and this is a song that I find rather inspiring about just speaking freely and being brave in the face of holding back words that create silence instead of speaking up. So, without further ado, I will be singing _Brave_. Hit it Brad, please!"

You can be amazing

You can turn a phrase into a weapon or a drug

You can be the outcast

Or be the backlash of somebody's lack of love

Or you can start speaking up

Everyone was nodding their head along to the beat of the song and listening to the words with a smile as they knew they really did relate to this song.

Nothing's gonna hurt you the way that words do

When they settle 'neath your skin

Kept on the inside and no sunlight

Sometimes the shadow wins

But I wonder what would happen if you

The song was picking up and Brittany and Mike were already standing up and dancing along as a few others joined, Quinn by choice while Santana was dragged up by Brittany's smile of encouragement.

Say what you wanna say

And let the words fall out

Honestly I wanna see you be brave

Kurt had been watching Quinn closely the entire time because he had been curious about Quinn's sudden turn around about many things since a few months ago and he wasn't disappointed. He could see the way she was looking at Rachel and wondered if Rachel had noticed it at all. He whispered to Mercedes about it and asked her if she saw the same thing he did or if it was just his imagination. She nodded her head in agreement with him before dancing and singing along again without missing a beat.

With what you want to say

And let the words fall out

Honestly I wanna see you be brave

At this point almost everyone was out of their seat dancing with the exception of Artie, who was dancing in his seat, Finn because he was still brooding, and Lauren. Lauren nodded along to the beat of the song but didn't seem to be in the mood for dancing around the room with everyone else at the stage with Rachel. Finn also noticed that Quinn was actually dancing with Rachel as she sang happily and it made him furrow his eyebrows in deep thought.

I just want to see you

I just want to see you

I just want to see you

I wanna see you be brave

I just want to see you

I just want to see you

I just want to see you  
>I wanna see you be brave<p>

Everybody's been there, everybody's been stared down

By the enemy

Fallen for the fear and done some disappearing

Bow down to the mighty  
>Don't run, stop holding your tongue<p>

Maybe there's a way out of the cage where you live

Maybe one of these days you can let the light in

Show me how big your brave is~!

This note was exceptionally powerful and well done and it blew Quinn away and Mr. Schue even showed surprise with his eyebrows reaching his hairline in amazed shock. A smile formed on his face as he watched his kids enjoying themselves and dancing around.

Say what you wanna say

And let the words fall out

Honestly I wanna see you be brave

With what you want to say

And let the words fall out

Honestly I want to see you be brave

And since your history of silence

Won't do you any good

Did you think it would?

Let your words be anything but empty

Why don't you tell them the truth?

Say what you wanna say

And let the words fall out

Honestly I wanna see you be brave

With what you want to say

And let the words fall out

Honestly I wanna see you be brave

It was such a fun and catchy song that everyone joined in for this last part with Rachel, acting as her chorus.

I just want to see you

I just want to see you  
>I just want to see you<p>

I want to see you be brave

I just want to see you  
>I just want to see you<br>I just want to see you  
>I want to see you be brave<p>

I just want to see you  
>I just want to see you<br>I just want to see you  
>I want to see you be brave<p>

I just want to see you  
>I just want to see you<br>See you be brave

As soon as everyone was seated and catching their breaths, while Kurt and Mercedes whispered to each other back and forth in gossip, Mr. Schue spoke up. "That was great Rachel! Well done! And that note you hit was so outstandingly powerful! This was a wonderful performance, Rachel; I have to give it to you!" Rachel beamed at the praise. "Does anyone else want to perform anything as a bit of a jam session before school is let out for the day? I know it's hard to follow up such an energized performance but everyone is welcome!" Mercedes whispered to Kurt that, yeah, she lived with Quinn but Quinn usually minded her own business and was usually busy working and almost never home until she had to sleep or had a day off of work.

A few other people decided that they did want to perform some songs and all of the girls joined in as Santana sang _I Kissed A Girl_ around the room and even went as far as going up and down the hallways. She even walked passed a few people gawking in the hallways with a smirk on her face as she sang, especially guys who obviously didn't get what she was singing about before making a loop back into the choir room. Santana and Brittany held on to each other while Mercedes and Tina paired up in this song Rachel pressed up against Quinn playfully, causing Finn to turn red in anger in his seat and narrow his eyes in thought again, and Sugar kind of danced on her own since Lauren once again didn't join in. Most of the guys whooped in their seats in celebration of Brittany and Santana coming out to the school the other day and being so out and proud.

When the song ended Santana had a few parting words, "someone else needs to write a coming out song a bit better than this because it's about experimentation but I'll be damned if I don't sing it! I'm proud to say I love Brittany S. Pierce and that I'm _in love_ with her even if this song doesn't cover the whole thing." Brittany smiled and leaned down to kiss Santana chastely before pulling her into a hug that Santana actually blushed into. Everyone awed at that and cooed at the adorable couple. "This better not leave this room though! I don't want anybody thinking I'm a sap and that that makes me soft or something! I'll have to do a lot of ass kicking if anybody gets the wrong idea!" She made sure to say before she went to sit down with Brittany at their seats next to Quinn.

Everyone rolled their eyes good naturedly at that. "You just had to add that, didn't you? You can't help yourself San." Quinn was smiling as she said it.

"Yeah well … it's all thanks to you for keeping everyone in line and basically getting rid of the slushies' use as a torturing method. I know that if I hadn't waited for it to sink in I would have had more trouble with those idiot jocks than I did. I know I'm always a bitch but … thanks, Quinn. Don't ever say I never thanked you for anything now." Santana said with a smirk.

"You're such a smart ass Santana and you're welcome. You know I'd do anything for you guys … except for when you ask about a damn threesome. It's like … you're basically asking me to sleep with you even though I view you guys as my family more than I do my own family. And … it's been a year since they kicked me out so … I … I don't think I'll ever go back. They haven't even called me once to talk to me." Quinn sounded sadder than she had for a long time, not since the year before when she had hormones to contest with as well as depression after her parents kicked her out.

"Q, you should have let me beat their asses for that! I would have loved to sock your dad in the face because he was always putting his hands on you whenever he got drunk and acted like even more of an ass. I would have _gladly_ handed his ass to him." Santana shook her head of the angry thoughts, "I would have let you stay with me but … you know how my parents are. They would have taken you in but they don't like children born out of wedlock and they would have looked down on you for it and I know you would've hated that more than anything else."

"I know S. I know and it's all right."

Rachel wasn't sure if this could be considered eavesdropping or not but she certainly wasn't going to pretend she didn't have ears or childishly block them out with a hand over each ear. She put her hand on top of Quinn's gently and squeezed it comfortingly, causing Quinn to look over at her in surprise. Based on Quinn's reaction she had forgotten where she was because her eyes widened in realization but then she relaxed and smiled at Rachel, a silent 'thank you' for her support.

Kurt and Mercedes had been watching the exchange, even if they couldn't hear it from where they sat. Even Finn had been watching with his still narrowed eyes. He felt like something was going on and Kurt and Mercedes were whispering to each other again as the scene unfolded before them. Finn didn't like what he was seeing but he hadn't figured out why he didn't like it yet. He was going to watch them more from now on, as were the less malicious intended but still watchful gossip queens of the school from their corner.

She wasn't sure how she realized it then but … Rachel was sure that Quinn had given her a smile that meant something, something that might have been more than just friendship. Then again, she might have been imagining it entirely. She just hoped that dinner would go a lot better than she was currently expecting it to be. She didn't want her dads to scare Quinn away because Quinn was the only genuine friend Rachel had ever had in her life thus far. Jesse had only been interesting in sabotaging the New Directions and both Finn and Noah had wanted to get into her pants, something that made her shudder. Kurt, Sam, and Tina only talked to her occasionally so they didn't really count.

Rachel was kind of dreading dinner at her house and so was Quinn but for _very_ different reasons entirely.

X

So, another chapter for everyone here! Please R&R. I'm thinking of only writing a few more chapters of this story, making it a total of 8 chapters here. This is the halfway point everybody!^^

姫宮光る


	5. Close To You

Chapter 5

Close To You

X

Quinn was nervous. More nervous than she had been to confess that she was with child to her parents the year before. All she was doing right now was standing in front of the Berry Residence. She was just standing in front of the door to the house trying to find the courage to ring the doorbell that would make her face two people she was quite sure didn't like her at all and one who was her … friend.

Nerves wracked at her as she fought to be brave, well _braver_ for Rachel. Taking a deep breath Quinn finally pushed the little knob that represented something that could be a life changing event for her. It wasn't as if everything in her life culminated to this single moment but a good bit of it rested on the Berry men's like or dislike of her. They didn't even know what her true intentions with Rachel were to begin with. They just thought she was a friend, a friend they already didn't approve of just based on past experience instead of actually knowing her themselves. She just hoped this would go well and that Rachel's fathers would see her for who she was and not what they thought she was.

Before she was really ready for face anyone the door was opening and not one but both Berry men were standing at the door to let her in. "Hello, you must be Quinn," the short of the two said.

"Come in," said the other one, his smile warm but somehow not quite reaching his eyes entirely. He was quite tall and had the build of a football player and quite intimidating to say the least. Somehow the shorter of the two men intimidated her more just from the way he looked at her even though his words were politer. She also noticed that neither of them technically said she was welcome to come in or any other kind of pleasantry she was expecting.

"Thank you sir," she said politely though quite warily.

"We'll get straight to the point." The shorter one said, "My name is Hiram and my husband is Leroy, and we're more than aware of the torture you've put our baby girl through over the years. Far more than aware of all of it and we don't like that you've seemingly befriended her so abruptly and out of nowhere. We've heard our fair share of stories about you and what you've done to our baby girl in the past and so if this is a trick, just tell us now and be done with it. However if it is not then we welcome you."

Leroy's stern look never left his face, which somehow seemed almost better than how polite Hiram was in comparison. "If this happens to be a trick and you didn't tell us upfront … we will make sure that Rachel is transferred out of William McKinley High School immediately. She will _never_ be your target again and we _will_ make sure of it. You won't _ever_ bother our baby girl _ever_ again. Have we made ourselves clear, Quinn?" His tone of voice was harsh and commanding. His face was about as hard as a stone and it just made Quinn's nerves mount ever higher and she was about ready to snap and run out of the house, wondering what in God's name possessed her to even try to become Rachel's friend let alone become something else to her.

Just when Quinn was about to answer them Rachel came down looking more beautiful than Quinn ever remembered seeing her. She was wearing jeans, _jeans!_ Rachel Berry never wore pants, let alone jeans, for anything less than a Glee performance, which she had last year for Regionals. She looked so sexy and her shirt … did Rachel have to wear such a low cut polo? It was all Quinn could do to keep her eyes at a respectable level at the moment and both of the Berry men could see it on her face because they were still scrutinizing her. Rachel's hair was even in a ponytail and that alone spelled Quinn's doom as her eyes raked over the available expanse of smooth skin on her exposed neck. God, help her now and just strike her where she stood because she felt desire for that girl right now. She wanted to … no! She had to remember Rachel's dads were _right there_ and there was no way she could tip them off to her feelings for the girl.

"Quinn! I knew I heard the doorbell ring!" And it was as if she had just noticed that both of her fathers were present in the room as she spoke again. "Dad? Daddy? Why are both of you home right now? I thought that daddy was supposed to be at work for another hour and a half at the very least." She asked suspiciously.

"I just … finished my shift early so that I could be home to have fun with your new … friend earlier. I know you don't have school tomorrow so I thought you would be able to play some board games together with her so we could _all_ get to know her better, too!" Leroy's voice held some genuine warmth because he was talking to his daughter but somehow Quinn felt as if she was experiencing frostbite for all of the warmth he projected into that sentence alone.

Rachel gave both of her fathers a penetrating stare and then looked to Quinn to verify what they said. "Okay, we should head over to the living room them and pick out some games we can all play together," her tone suggested that she didn't quite believe her father entirely. She would just go with it though and leave it alone for Quinn's sake. Quinn looked like she was nervous and well … Rachel didn't think she'd ever seen Quinn this nervous about something before in her life. It was almost as if Quinn was nervous about meeting her parents but she was sure it was because they told Quinn they knew of her past treatment of her and that must have triggered it.

The way Quinn was smiling was definitely strained but Rachel knew she could ask about it right now. "I think that's a lovely idea Rachel and Mr. and Mr. Berry." Quinn said formally, more than a little uncomfortably. "What kind of games would we be playing?" It took more than a little effort for Quinn to ask that question with an air of polite talk that she'd learned from a young age as a Fabray child.

Before anyone else could answer Rachel started listing off games she usually played with her parents, "_Scrabble_, _Uno_, _Egyptian Rat Race_, maybe _Charades_ if we're feeling up to it, _Blokus_, _Monopoly_, maybe even _Life_. It's all up to us what we feel like playing really so we'll just vote on which game we'd like to play." Rachel tried to smile reassuringly and she even took Quinn's hand in her own and gave her a comforting squeeze which caused an involuntary smile to appear on Quinn's face. Rachel's fathers both took notice of it and gave each other discerning looks. They communicated silently before one of them spoke up.

"I'm in the mood for some Scrabble, what about you dear?" Hiram said to his husband. Leroy nodded his head in agreement to the game choice. "And you Rachel? Would you like to play Scrabble?"

"Of course I would daddy! What about you Quinn?" Rachel asked a quiet Quinn.

"Anything is fine with me, Rachel." And both of Rachel's fathers exchanged looks yet again but this time due to the way Quinn said Rachel's name so … softly, almost reverently even. The way Quinn said Rachel's name was in a way that seemed like she was saying her name lovingly. They decided to watch Quinn closely the rest of the night as subtly as possible in their silent communication.

X

Two rounds of Scrabble later in which Quinn had won the first round which incited Rachel to demand a recount and also a rematch when it was found that Quinn had indeed won fairly and there was no miscalculation. Rachel could not believe that Quinn had won that first round and demanded to know if Quinn had somehow cheated and kept letters hidden up her sleeves, which she didn't even have considering she was wearing a short sleeved dress. Rachel had won the second round but wanted to make sure Quinn winning the first round wasn't a fluke entirely and so they were currently in the midst of a third round of Scrabble. Quinn was currently in the lead by 44 points with Rachel in second and her fathers were far behind because they kept getting bad letters and they honestly didn't care as much. Quinn couldn't help but find the way Rachel kept biting her lip and poking her tongue out in concentration adorable and it showed on her face and both Berry men saw it clearly.

They were all waiting for Rachel to complete her turn as she continued to shuffle her letters around to find the best possible word choice to score ahead of Quinn. "Okay, I think I've found a suitable word to play." Rachel said excitedly. _Sexually_ appeared on the board and Rachel made sure that her x was on a triple letter score tile as well as a double score tile to make a total of 68 points and putting her ahead of Quinn, until her turn, by 24 points. Rachel had a radiant smile on her face as she gleefully, pun intended, added up her score, "that was quite satisfying. Thank you for the u, dad, and the l, daddy. I used those letters quite wisely. 68 is quite a solid score in Scrabble. I'd like to see you trump that Quinn!" Rachel said challengingly.

Quinn had to wait for both Leroy and Hiram to take their turns first since they had decided that the youngest of them would go first and then go clockwise. Quinn had chosen to sit to Rachel's right, Leroy to Rachel's immediately left, and Hiram took place next to his husband, leaving Quinn last to play in the lineup. As Quinn waited for her turn Quinn played with her tiles a bit, already knowing what she wanted to play though. And as soon as Quinn played her word, _pleaded_, Rachel's face dropped when Quinn's word was played and she managed to surpass her yet again by a significant amount. Quinn's word earned her a whopping 95 points much to Rachel's speechlessness. Not only had Quinn surpassed Rachel's score, yet again, she scored the highest scoring word to ever be played at the Berry house. Rachel's jaw had dropped to the floor as her title was stolen by a measly 8 points by Quinn Fabray. It was an outrage!

"This is … there must be some kind of miscalculation! I demand a recount!" Rachel fumed as she eagerly removed Quinn's tiles one by one to check that all of the point values had been added up correctly before giving up. "It … it is fair and accurate. I concede to your victory," Rachel said forlornly, as Quinn had successfully used the last of the tiles available.

"It's okay Rachel. I just got lucky, that's all." Quinn said in an effort to comfort Rachel. The Berry men exchanged looks again to see the cheerleader act so kindly towards Rachel. They narrowed their eyes as they exchanged looks and communicated how different she was from their expectations of her.

"No, it's not." Rachel said despondently as she stood up and walked over to a bookshelf in the living room in search of who knows what. "I clearly need to learn more words from the dictionary since it seems I've become negligent in that department." Rachel finally pulled a book out but Quinn was there so quickly she hadn't seen her coming. Quinn gently tried to pry the book away from Rachel as she spoke up again. "I've always prided myself in my extensive vernacular and yet I lost to you twice which is no accident no matter what you say Quinn!" Rachel was still trying to fight Quinn off so she could get the dictionary from Quinn's hands to brush up on her colloquial speech.

"Hey, Rachel, stop that. Put the dictionary down and stop being so silly, Rachel. You haven't gotten lax with your vocabulary at all. It's more a matter of strategy than knowing words when it comes to playing _Scrabble_ and you know that. I know that _Scrabble_ is your game but you need to relax and just have fun with it instead of taking it to heart when you lose. It's not healthy to be that competitive. It takes the fun out of playing games when you're _too_ competitive. Just think of it a bit like how people react in Glee Club whenever you are too eager to say that you're the winner. No one really likes that too much do they?" Quinn asked and smiled in amusement when Rachel nodded her head seriously in reply. She looked as if she was remembering a few instances of such an event. "Well, the best thing to do is be a _humble_ and _modest_ winner and loser when things like that happen." Rachel furrowed her eyebrows in thought as she thought it over. "For example when you win you should say something like, 'everyone tried their best and did a very good job!' or 'you guys were amazing and worked very hard and I can tell!' Say things like that rather than concentrate on the fact that you won and no one can possibly get mad at you for it."

Rachel was nodding her head along as she listened intently and it was such an endearing sight to Quinn and the Berry men kept a close eye on their interaction though they didn't speak. "I understand why everyone would become upset with me boasting about my prowess as a singer over them." Rachel said thoughtfully.

"That's exactly it Rach." Quinn said with a smile and Rachel's head snapped up at that, causing Quinn to feel self-conscious. "Wh-what's that look for?"

Rachel had a smile on her face as she answered, "That's the first time you've ever called me that, Quinn." Quinn blushed in response as she stuttered for a moment before replying.

"W-well don't make it out to be something special, Rachel." Quinn purposefully called Rachel by her full name instead of a nickname this time causing Rachel to pout.

"Quinn~!" Rachel whined while pouting, "I like that you called me by my shortened name! Say it again, please?" Rachel gave Quinn puppy dog eyes, a pouty lip, and blinked up at her, thanks to her shorter height, adorably, causing Quinn's blush to intensify.

"That's not fair Rachel. Stop pouting at me like that." Quinn tried to look away but Rachel ducked down in the same direction Quinn's gaze went, giving her an even better view of the pouty look Rachel was giving her. "All right, all right, I give! Rach, are you happy now?" Quinn said as Rachel skillfully reverted back to her normal face.

"Yes, very much so Quinn!" Quinn rolled her eyes at Rachel. "Now, what game should we all play next?" Rachel asked as she finally walked back over to the table they had been playing games on earlier before Rachel tried to actually read the dictionary to accumulate more words in her repertoire of vernacular.

Quinn just rolled her eyes good naturedly again at the diva before going to sit down next to her yet again with a smile on her face. The Berry men silently communicated with their eyes that they would wait to discuss things with their darling baby girl.

X

After eating dinner everyone had decided to play a few more games. There were several rounds of _Blokus_, _Egyptian Rat Race_, and a single round of _Charades_, which Rachel could proudly say she won with Quinn, Quinn had to go home. It was already approaching midnight and Quinn had promised to be back at the Jones' residence by midnight at the latest, which Mercedes immediately reported to Kurt about.

They had talked on the phone for a good hour or two about what it could possibly mean between all of the looks Quinn gave Rachel and the very sudden friendship. Kurt and Mercedes came to the same conclusion that it had to mean Quinn had a crush on one Rachel Berry, diva extraordinaire for sure. The only question on their lips was should they or shouldn't they interfere by saying something to Rachel about it subtly, of course. Quinn's definite crush on Rachel, though slightly unexpected but should have been obvious, was cute and definitely had Quinn all kinds of happy. Quinn was due for some kind of happiness after what the last year had been for her between the baby and all of the drama with who the baby's daddy had been. They decided on a plan that had been hatched over the phone before putting it into effect as soon as Monday came. They knew they were geniuses for coming up with such an ingenious plan for _Operation: Faberry_.

Mercedes was waiting, like a clichéd parent, in the living room with the light off next to the single lamp in the room that could be turned on from a single tug. As soon as Quinn came in, almost humming happily but absolutely vibrating with happy vibes, Mercedes unleashed the light much to Quinn's chagrin. Even Mercedes was blinded by the sudden light in the room and blinked owlishly for a few moments before saying the line she had rehearsed in her mind for the last 15 minutes. She would never do it out loud because that just made her feel and _seem_ crazy in her own mind. "And where have you been Quinn? You're five minutes late."

Quinn had stopped moving the moment the almost blinding light had been turned on from the darkness that had been present when she walked into the house. Now Quinn was staring almost disbelievingly at Mercedes Jones sitting in an armchair and acting like a parent catching their child after curfew. It was odd to say the least and a bit startling since Mr. and Mrs. Jones themselves didn't really enforce the curfew that harshly because Quinn almost never left the house anyways. For Quinn it was school, work, and home for the most part. Quinn never went to parties on weekends anymore, almost never hung out with Santana or Brittany unless it during school other than the occasional sleepover, which happened about once a month, and church on Sundays. It was a little sad to the Jones' to see how little Quinn ever did for herself. They didn't even know about her ability to play the violin or that she even owned a violin, for that matter, because of how private she was.

"I already told you that I was at Rachel's house and I just left a little late because I had a good time. Why are you even questioning me about it?" Quinn asked with a raised brow, the infamous Fabray brow raise. "I was barely late either way Mercedes."

She almost rolled her eyes, almost, but mostly at her own behavior more so than Quinn's. "I guess that this was a bit extreme for you being five minutes late. I'm sorry Quinn. I was just … just worried you know? I didn't think you'd be so late and that even if you were you would have at least texted me that you would be late. I'm sorry. You know you're my girl and one of my best friends so I kind of freaked out when you didn't come home a bit earlier because you almost never leave the house, you know?"

That got Quinn to soften her features significantly in the face of her friend's worry and concern over her. Quinn smiled gently as she said, "it's okay Cedes. Just text me next time instead of doing this dramatic set up like they have in the cliché 90's movies for teenagers late for their curfew. That was … well, weird and kind of funny in a way."

Mercedes laughed at that and nodded her head in agreement. "Yeah, I gotta say, I wasn't planning on doing it this way but the closer it got to the curfew the more worried I got and then I kept the lamp off and everything! I kind of wanted to startle you a little bit when you came in but from past experience standing by the door when you're going to be the one entering to confront you _is not_ the way to go. I'm still surprised you didn't break my nose by accident!"

Quinn groaned and glared at Mercedes, "don't remind me! I still feel bad about that but you can't really blame me since I was pregnant at the time and you kind of jumped at me out of nowhere! You're lucky I didn't go ahead and follow that punch with a few kicks, too! I took so many years of different forms of martial arts for that very reason!"

Their banter came to an end as they just looked at each other in silence for just a few moments before Mercedes broke it again. "So … why were you at the Berry's for so long? Did you have a really good time or were you held prisoner there for a long time?" Quinn wasn't sure if Mercedes was joking about the latter or not but she snorted indelicately when she heard it.

"I … I actually had a really good time while I was there. At first it was a bit of a rocky start because Rachel's dads weren't really all that welcoming and towards the end of it … they seemed a bit off. It was kind of like they kept talking to each other silently and they kept watching me for some reason. It was kind of like they were analyzing me and every single thing I did. It was pretty weird." Quinn said with a furrow of her eyebrows that made Mercedes smile. Quinn was a lot cuter when all of her guard was down and she was about as threatening as a puppy barking in anger. Cute and fluffy basically and just plain adorable. It amazed her that Quinn had come so far from how she used to be, how closed off and emotionless she was. It was all a front and Mercedes was happy that Quinn let her see this side of her now. They'd been living together for almost a year now, after the whole Puck's the daddy debacle and Quinn wasn't welcome in the Hudson house anymore.

"That is pretty weird but maybe they were just kind of watching you because they don't trust you? I mean, if I had a daughter who was bullied by someone for something like a year and a half and then they were nice and befriending her all of a sudden? I'd definitely be watching them to see if they're being genuine or not. I would watch them to see how real they were before I'd even so much as give them the time of day let alone trust and believe that they've really changed and mean it. It's probably what her dads were doing to protect Rachel from this being fake or something like that."

And everything Mercedes said, no matter how unintentional, made Quinn's fear spike even higher over ever confessing to the fact that she was the secret admirer leaving Rachel flowers. It made sense but Quinn had refused to ever think about it. It was too hard, hurt too much, to remember everything she had put Rachel through because of her misguided attempt to get Rachel's attention. In all honesty, Quinn knew that her behavior was pretty much how little boys would treat the object of their affections. They would tease them, pull on their pigtails, and be mean to get their attention and she had essentially done all of those things in regards to her past relationship with Rachel. And now, now how could she possibly ever hope for more between them.

"I guess, I guess you're right. Well, it's pretty late so I'm going to go to bed now. I'm sorry for coming back so late and worrying you so much, Cedes. I'll remember to text you next time if I'm going to be late." Quinn smiled before she turned to the stairs, "good night."

Mercedes had a contemplative look on her face as soon as Quinn's back was turned after she said 'good night' back to Quinn. She knew that it wasn't her imagination now, it couldn't be. It had to be that Quinn really was in love with Rachel. Her earlier conversation with Kurt had mostly been speculation and silly ideas. Kurt had told her that when Quinn came home she had to confirm it for him so that they really could put _Operations: Faberry_ into effect. Otherwise they would be meddling for no reason and potentially upsetting the balance and friendship that Quinn and Rachel had been developing with each other. That would just have been bad on all ends and it would have made them die from the guilt it would have caused. Now there was undeniable proof and Mercedes would definitely be texting Kurt first thing after she woke up and had some breakfast in her.

X

Back at the Berry house the Berry men had been communicating silently after Quinn left before finally looking at their daughter, who knew they wanted to talk to her about something. She could almost guess what it was that they wanted to talk about but she didn't want to guess and assume things. It was several minutes before one of her fathers finally spoke up.

Leroy cleared his throat. "Rachel … we have gathered that your friendship with Quinn seems genuine after observing her today." Rachel smiled at this but knew not to become overly excited just yet because there was more, there was always something more. "We were watching her and we have both come to the conclusion that Quinn Fabray is in love with you."

Rachel blinked. Her face seemed to be frozen as well as the rest of her body before something finally seemed to click in her mind. "I'm sorry daddy but I think I must have misheard you. Can you repeat that last part for me, please?" Rachel was smiling as if they were talking about the weather or something equally mundane and ordinary.

Hiram spoke up this time, "we believe that Quinn Fabray is in love with you Rachel. We were observing her very carefully with each and every interaction she had with you and we both simultaneously came to this conclusion after scrutinizing every single thing said and done between both of you."

It was as if Rachel was hearing her fathers speak a different language. It couldn't possibly be what she was hearing right now. They must have used Rosetta Stone to learn a new language when she wasn't looking. "There must be some mistake," she finally said when she realized they were serious about this. "You must be severely mistaken dad and daddy. There's no way Quinn could _possibly_ be in _love_ with _me_ in anyway whatsoever! She's, she's hated me for years and the fact that we've become such good friends these last few months is _amazing_. Truly, it is, but there is _no way_ Quinn could possibly be in love with me. It's … preposterous. There's just no way." Rachel was looking at them almost _desperately_ to deny what they said, to take it all back and say they were mistaken and just wrong about the whole thing.

They didn't understand why Rachel was so desperate to deny what they had clearly observed. "We, we didn't mean to upset you sweetheart but … we saw it in the way she looked at you, spoke to you, joked with you, and the way she just seemed to glow whenever you smiled at her. Even if, _if_, Quinn isn't in love with you, Rachel, she must at least have a big crush on you if nothing else." Hiram said calmly despite Rachel's vehement denial. It was almost as if she was _in denial_ about everything, about this one thing. It was almost heartbreaking.

"I don't think so. She doesn't really look at me any differently than she does with her other friends! I would know! I've been in school with her for years! She always looks at whoever she's talking to, friend wise, as if they're the only person in the room, as if they're the only person who exists to her! Not just that but she's very nice and sweet with the people she trusts and I see it all of the time in Glee whenever we all sing and dance together. I _know_ that it seems like it but there's just no feasible way for her to _ever_ harbor secret feelings of love, let alone a crush, on me and you are both wrong dad and daddy. She's had boyfriends, she's been pregnant, and most of all she's never given me a reason to believe her anything but_ straight_." Rachel seemed to be adamant about this so they gave up. "I'm going to go to bed now if you have nothing further to say. Good night," she kissed them both on the cheek before leaving the room and practically running upstairs to her sanctuary, to her room.

Rachel sighed heavily and thought back to the flower she had received this morning. It was a soft, pink flower with curling petals called an Oleander according to her secret admirer.

_The Oleander symbolizes caution and though you might wonder why I chose this flower I have my reason as this: I am cautious in nature. I've had to be cautious about many things in my past and it is because of not only my upbringing but also in part due to the fact that though I loved you since the moment we met we've never been friends. I have never had the courage to befriend you even when I had the chance, even when I could have come to you and ask for your friendship I couldn't bring myself to do so no matter how much I wanted it. I could have asked for your friendship and I know you would have accepted it, would have said yes but I … I didn't want to just be your friend. I wanted more than friendship and I knew that had I even hinted at it you would have questioned me, questioned what my motives were for asking for friendship when in the past we had been nothing to each other. You would have wondered why, when we had never been friends, I wanted a relationship with you. It also doesn't help that I never really showed you who I really was the few times we spoke to each other, never really let you know that I was there and madly in love with you. My fears are great and many but not without reason and base. I have very many reasons to be so scared to tell you who I really am because I always think that you will think it a joke, that you will find me repulsive and think me a liar in every way possible. I always fear that you will reject me and never speak to me again no matter how much I wish to rid myself of the torment, of the what ifs, by just telling you about how I really feel. I really wish that I had more courage, more bravery, to tell you that I'm here and that I'll always be here and be in love with you even if you do reject me and tell me that you want absolutely nothing to do with me after you find out who I really am. I can only hope to God and pray that you will find some way to take what I have to say at face value, that you will find it in yourself to believe me and understand where these feelings stem from._

_I don't want to assume but I am going to guess that you've realized by now that I am a girl. I am a girl who is in love with you in every way even if you don't notice me or realize I'm there, that I'm around you and I'm always listening and falling even more in love with you. I have a few classes with you and I always find myself a bit angry when I see someone mistreat you in any way. I remember how you were slushied quite frequently in the past and wished that I had the power to stop those slushies and idiots from ever harming you by throwing those wicked drinks at you. I love how strong you are for always wiping them off and walking away with your head held high no matter how horrible the feeling of having them seep into your clothing, especially around the chest area, is. I had always admired that about you. I've been slushied before and I remember the first one and how horrible it felt to have that kind of sensation flowing down like claws and how freezing and chilled it feels when it really seeps into clothing. It's a terrible sensation and should have never been a form of bullying at our school. I hate everything about the use of slushies and I'm not sure I'll ever actually look at a slushie the same way no matter where I live in the future._

_This is probably the longest note I've ever written for you in the last two months and a half since I gave you that first flower but … I feel a bit at the end of my rope without any hope. I know that you want me to reveal who I am, I would have demanded it myself had I been the recipient, but I ask that you be patient, that you bare with me as I build up my courage to be brave enough to tell you who I am and just hope for the best. I want to confess to you, I really do and I will do so if you give me a week, just one week to gather up my courage and finally tell you who I am. I promise that if you don't want to see me or have anything to do with me after you find out who I am … I won't chase you, I won't pursue, and I'll accept that it is your decision. I don't want to hurt you and I understand that it will be your choice if you don't want to be mine, to accept my affection for you. I just want you to know that the moment that I saw you I knew I adored you, that I would come to love you for everything that you are, everything you do and believe in._

_Always, with love_

_LF_

It was the longest note Rachel had ever gotten from her secret admirer and it was also an entire front page and about half of the back of the page. She also finally knew that her secret admirer was a girl and that fact was almost exciting because it proved her suspicions true. But this note also left her with some dread because not only had the admirer admitted that they were more than just a little terrified of rejection. She went as far to say that she was absolutely scared of her rejection even though she said she would understand why Rachel would reject her in the first place. It made Rachel's heart ache with wonder, with speculation, with some worry. It wasn't as if her secret admirer was giving her much to be confidence about who they could possibly be.

Almost belatedly Rachel realized that she had a list of names with potential people her admirer could be and she only crossed out Lloyd Flowers' name out. That left Larissa Fretthold, Lindsay Folder, and Faridah Lawson as potential secret admirers. Rachel, deep down, felt as if none of them could possibly be her secret admirer because only Lindsay and Faridah were part of anything musical in school and even then they never looked at her and hardly spoke to her. Larissa was part of the newspaper club but otherwise never even spoke to her either! It was so disheartening wondering who it could be, who her secret admirer would end up being.

And now Rachel was thinking about her fathers and what they had outright said to her earlier about Quinn being in love with her! That was almost the _most_ preposterous thing she had ever heard in her entire life! There was very little else she had ever heard and disbelieved so strongly in her entire life. It was certainly not something she had been expecting to hear from her fathers of all people, that they suspected Quinn was in love with her. And then the fact that she had dissented so strongly wasn't exactly uncalled for. It was just so jarring, so unexpectedly unnerving. She would apologize to her fathers in the morning for her dramatic and somewhat harsh refutation of their belief of Quinn's supposed feelings for her. But for now … Rachel was going to sleep and get up early in the morning for her vocal lessons at ten and then go for a jog to clear her head. Of course she still had ballet to contend with later on so she had to make sure that she didn't over do her jogging to clear her thoughts because that wouldn't do at all.

Rachel sighed and rolled over to get more comfortable on the bed and settled herself in for some sleep. Rachel's last thought before she succumbed to sleep was:

_I just want to know you, to get close to you whoever you might be._

X

So here's to another chapter and hopefully everybody tells me their thoughts on the chapter!^^ I've had quite a few more free days the last week because of how bad my knee is from a work injury and though it's nice to have a few more days off my paycheck is suffering for it. Well, I hope you take the time to read and review my lovely readers!^^

姫宮光る


	6. Funny

Chapter 6

Funny

X

Rachel was jogging around a local park just a few miles away from her house. It was a rather spacious park with a lake in the middle of it that parents had to be wary of when they had young kids with them. Considering it was already halfway through January and the snow made everything magical other than the much colder but yet to freeze lake. There was only an inch or two of snow on the ground and so Rachel wasn't worried about slipping and sliding in her sneakers as she rounded out her first lap around the lake. Rachel had her hair pulled back and she liked the feel of how her ponytail swung with each step she took. It felt freeing being about to feel the cold air whip passed her as she jogged.

Rachel breathed in the fresh, crisp winter air rhythmically as she did a light jog in a circle around the lake that was about a mile in circumference. This was her second lap and during this second lap she noticed another person jogging in the park around the lake now. She knew who it was even before she reached her and smiled at the blonde as she made her way over to jog with her.

"Hi Brittany," Rachel said with a smile on her face. "Do you normally jog here on Saturdays?" Rachel asked after Brittany greeted her in kind.

Brittany nodded before she spoke up, "yup! I normally jog at least five or six laps around here on Saturdays even during winter! I tried to get San to join me but she wouldn't get out of bed because she was too tired after last night. Quinn said she would come but she's running a little late because of something. I don't remember what she said but I think it had something to do with a song about meltdowns or something incredible." Brittany paused and it gave Rachel time to think that the songs were two incredibly, _haha, incredibly_, different themes between them. "Well, she said she was just going to practice the song a few more times before she would join me so she should be on her way here now."

Rachel nodded her head, noting that Brittany was so at ease with this pace it seemed almost effortless. It was then that Rachel realized the disparaging height difference between them and how she wished she was just a tiny bit taller. Rachel was just finishing her second lap around and first lap with Brittany when another blonde joined them. "Hi Brittany, and Rachel," there was the slightest pause in between their names that Rachel almost didn't notice it. It was as if Quinn hadn't noticed her at first, or maybe it was because it was hard to see who she was at first because of Brittany's half foot height advantage over her. It made Rachel a little sad as she greeted Quinn in kind and they all fell into a silence as they continued to jog around the lake.

It was now her third lap and she decided that this would be her final lap even though she disliked odd numbers. She wanted to give herself a little break to relax and maybe take a quick shower before her dance class. She might actually wait to take a shower but then she would feel too sweaty and gross when she walked into class so she decided against that.

"After this lap I have to go. I need to take a little break and get ready for my dance class in a few hours." Technically Rachel's dance class didn't start until five in the evening and it was only just about 1:30 in the afternoon right now but Rachel really needed a break to think about everything her fathers had told her about Quinn and she couldn't do that with Quinn _right there_. It was just even more confusing to see Quinn while she was thinking about her in this way. She had basically spent her time jogging, before Brittany and Quinn joined, analyzing every single interaction they'd had with each other since Quinn moved here and become the Ice Queen, the HBIC of WMHS.

Brittany expressed her disappointment while Quinn only furrowed her eyebrows and almost looked as disappointed as Brittany did. "Awe, okay. That's cool. I hope we get to jog together again one day! I hope you have fun with your dance class!" Brittany said brightly while Quinn just smiled and nodded along to what Brittany said. That, in and of itself, was a little odd.

As Rachel made it to her final lap they all stopped simultaneously and Brittany hugged Rachel tightly before saying goodbye. Quinn was biting her lip before she, too, enveloped Rachel in a gentle hug. "I'll see you at school Rachel. I … I wanted to talk to you about something but I guess it can wait until school on Monday." Quinn said as she pulled back, much to Rachel's trepidation. It made Rachel worry about what it was Quinn wanted to talk about exactly.

She put aside her worry as she waved at both Brittany and Quinn. "I'll see you at school then!" A chorus of 'byes' rang out in the park as Rachel walked away quickly with a sense of foreboding. Whatever Quinn wanted to talk about left her contemplating, pondering what exactly it could possibly be about. Rachel wondered if it was her fathers' less than warm reception towards Quinn last night when she had come over to hang out. Quinn had been nothing but kind, kind of really adorable, and charming towards Rachel's fathers and herself. In fact Rachel hardly ever saw the sweet side of Quinn until they became friends just a little over two months ago and it was entirely endearing and lovable.

Rachel shook her thoughts as she finally made it to her car and drove off to her house, still deep in thought. Rachel never once looked back but if she had she would have seen a certain hazel eyed blonde eyeing her and biting her lip as she watched her depart. If Rachel had been paying more attention to her surroundings she would have seen Kurt Hummel-Hudson and Finn Hudson coincidentally hanging out at the park with their parents at one of the picnic tables available at the park.

Kurt had been griping about the cold weather not being ideal for picnics until he saw the potential couple jogging with each other. That got him to stop because this was juicy and he had to tell Mercedes about this! Both of the boys had furrowed brows and pensive looks on their faces as they had watched the interaction between the girls, a certain blonde and brunette more so, almost in its entirety. Finn, of course, looked more constipated than deep in thought and Kurt was already texting Mercedes about this seemingly innocuous event. And it was then that Mercedes told Kurt all about how Quinn had looked when she came back from the Berry's residence and how absolutely love struck Quinn had been acting. _Operation: Faberry_ was a go then.

X

Monday came far too quickly for both Quinn and Rachel; everything seemed to have just gone by in fast forward motion during the weekend. Time seemed to speed up when they wanted it to slow down instead but here it was as unwelcome as it was for both anxious girls.

Rachel was standing at her locker and for a moment her excitement bubbled over at receiving yet another flower from her secret admirer. This time it was a flower that looked like it was made up of tiny little flowers and it was a beautiful shade violet-blue. Rachel took a moment to appreciate it before she went on to the note her admirer left for her.

_This flower is named Vervain. It speaks of enchantment and it is how I feel whenever you're around. I feel as if you've enchanted me, put me under a spell and I, the willing victim, couldn't ask for from the person I adore. I told you before that I knew from the moment I met you that you were someone I adored immensely even though I never showed you or told you in person. It is how I've always felt looking at you and seeing you for who you really are: a big star. I know someday that your dreams will come true, that you'll be on a Broadway stage with your name in shining lights and that when that day comes you can tell everyone that you made it, that you achieved your dreams while most of the bullies were left in Lima, unable to do anything better for themselves. It's something that they all know will happen and so they treat you terribly, well they did until a certain cheerleader stopped all of that. I know that you want me to tell you but … I promised to tell you in a week and that day will be this Friday. I will tell you who I am and I will pray for the best, hope, that you won't love me any less if you love me at all. I just want you to know that I really do adore you, love you, from the bottom of my heart. I've been in love with you for so long that I don't think I would ever be able to fall out of love with you even if you reject me and tell me you never want to see me again. You've enchanted me and I've been under your spell for so long, I only hope that with this confession nothing goes wrong._

_Love Always_

_LF_

Rachel felt herself swoon and smile like she'd never smiled before as she read this note. Her admirer, her LF, had finally given her a time stamp as to when she would finally confess! She knew that her secret admirer was a girl from the previous note, something she had been 99.9% sure of before the confirmation. She also knew that her secret admirer was absolutely terrified of her rejection but she couldn't think of why they would be so scared to confess to her. Rachel didn't think of herself as a scary person, not really. Sure, she had her moments when she felt as if she could explode and go off on people for being so stubborn but that didn't make her scary, did it?

Her thought process was interrupted by her kind of friend Kurt. She wondered what it was he was going to say because he looked a little … off somehow. He opened his mouth first with a greeting, "Hi, Rachel! How was your weekend? I saw you jogging with Brittany and Quinn on Saturday in the park and didn't Quinn look as stunning as ever even in her jogging clothes?" Kurt said without preamble. It was quite off putting and Rachel's sixth sense was tingling, so to speak.

"Well, hello to you too, Kurt." Rachel said with furrowed eyebrows. "My weekend was … uneventful and were you spying on me on Saturday or something?" Kurt noted that Rachel completely ignored the bit about Quinn looking stunning as she jogged in yoga pants and a sweatshirt due to the colder weather.

"I'm offended! I actually was forced to go there by my parents for a picnic. I told my dad that this cold weather wasn't exactly ideal for a picnic but he didn't care. He said that if Carole wanted a picnic then he'd give her a picnic." Kurt rolled his eyes dramatically, causing Rachel to feel slightly appeased by the fact that Kurt hadn't indeed been spying. "Anyways, I've been wondering, when exactly did you and Quinn start acting so chummy with each other? Being friendly, spending lunch periods together, and now taking romantic jogs around the lake together?" Kurt asked with an annoying gleam in his eyes, as if he had solved some kind of mystery.

Slightly exasperated Rachel rolled her eyes as she closed her locker, glad that Kurt hadn't noticed the flower in her locker or the note she had been reading either. She took a deep breath as she turned around, "Kurt, I don't know where you got that idea from but Quinn and I are not, in fact, dating. We're just friends, honest to goodness friends. I've never felt happier, knowing that I have a true friend in Quinn is really great because I don't really have anyone else I'd call a friend. You're … kind of like a friend but the only times you've ever come to me is when you have problems or if you have something you want to gossip about. This is something that's considered gossiping to me." Kurt felt hurt by what Rachel said but he knew that it was almost entirely true.

He sighed, "I … I can't really deny that for the most part. I thought … I thought you thought of me as your friend though?" His eyes were pleading with her but she knew that it was only because he truly believed that.

"I did say _kind of_ but the reason why you aren't really a friend is because you hardly ever text me, we've only ever really hung out once, and you've only been to my house once. Quinn texts me every day asking me how I'm feeling, what I'm up to today, if I'm as bored out of my mind as she is. She eats lunch with me in the auditorium when she could just easily go and sit with the other cheerleaders in the cafeteria and she shares things with me that she doesn't tell anyone else. That's how she's more of a friend than you are Kurt." Rachel took a deep breath before she continued, "Kurt, I'm not trying to hurt you or be mean but I consider Tina more of a friend than you because she's always been nice to me. Tina texts me once in a while just to say 'hey,' or ask me how I'm doing, even just to tell me something funny that happened. She even comes over once in a while to hang out and watch movies and play games with my family and me. She's a real friend, too."

Kurt sighed, feeling guiltier than he thought he was until that moment. "I, I'm sorry Rachel. I'll try better, harder, to be a real friend from now on then. I promise to treat you like a friend until you _know_ we're friends and then we can say that we _are_ friends." This was something he hadn't been expecting when he approached Rachel with intents of getting_ Operation: Faberry_ under way. Mercedes would have to do her part and considering Quinn lived with her it might be a bit easier for her to approach it in that direction. Kurt did care but he needed to do a better job of showing it from now on. The first thing on the caring agenda was of course getting Quinn and Rachel together!

They heard the bell ring for them to go to homeroom and so they left their separate ways.

X

Rachel was on her way to the auditorium when she heard someone yelling out her name. She stopped and looked behind her to see Mercedes running to catch up to her, curious about what Mercedes wanted to talk about. Mercedes took a moment to look around the hallway, a slightly suspicious action that Rachel took notice of immediately.

"Hey Rachel, I was just wondering if you wanted to go get lunch together today?" This was slightly unusual for Mercedes. It wasn't that Mercedes and Rachel disliked each other but they didn't really hang out all that often and it was usually only if Kurt was there as well because they seemed inseparable.

"Is there any special reason for us to get lunch together? Don't get me wrong, the invitation is appreciated and all but you hardly ever talk to me Mercedes." Rachel asked with a slight furrow of her brow.

Mercedes had to hold back an annoyed retort full of diva attitude. Rachel could almost see it coming when Mercedes opened her mouth, "I … actually wanted to talk to you about something to be honest. I just didn't want to do it around other ears." It was rather civil of Mercedes to say it the way she had and so Rachel decided to give her a chance.

"All right but I'm meeting someone so please do it quickly."

Mercedes looked around and the hall looked clear but she still led Rachel the nearest empty classroom to talk. Once the coast was clear Mercedes finally turned to Rachel. "All right … I just … I wanted to tell you something about Quinn." Rachel almost blurted out something in concern but Mercedes beat her to it, "before you start asking if something dire is happening, Quinn is fine. I just have a few things I noticed that I wanted to tell you." Rachel sighed in relief before giving Mercedes her full attention again. "Well I know that she hung out with you on Friday night and it's actually something I noticed before that. I don't want you freaking out but … I think … that Quinn," Rachel was becoming slightly exasperated by all of the pauses at this point, "might be either in love with you or crushing on you majorly." Mercedes said, expecting Rachel to flip out. Instead all she got was a blank stare. "Are you … are you just going to stand there and stare at me? Aren't you going to go on a Rachel Berry rant?"

Upon hearing that Rachel gave Mercedes an annoyed look. "I resent that statement. Look, I just … I've heard this from someone else already and I'm just a little bit annoyed because I don't think Quinn thinks of me in that way at all. She's been so kind lately and such a good friend that I'm sure it can be misconstrued as her having deeper feelings for me but I sincerely doubt that it is. She's not usually that friendly with too many people so it might come off a bit strange that we've been getting along so well but … for Quinn to have a crush or even be in love with me is a bit much."

There was silence between them for about a minute as Mercedes seemed to process what Rachel said. "Okay so you don't believe me?"

Rachel rolled her eyes as she shook her head. "It's not that I think you're lying I just don't think that Quinn's sees me in that way."

It was her turn to roll her eyes, "girl, you don't know what you're talking about. You can't even see things that are right in front of you sometimes and this is one of those times."

"Are you calling me an ignoramus Mercedes Riley Jones?" Rachel asked with her cheeks puffed out indignantly.

"I don't know what that means but are you calling yourself a dinosaur?" Mercedes asked with furrowed eyebrows as she tried to figure out what an 'ignoramus' was.

This time Rachel huffed and put her hands on her hip. "I believe I've given you an adequate amount of time to tell me what you wanted to talk about and I'm just going to leave it at that. I'm already a good five minutes late to meeting up with someone." And before Mercedes could respond Rachel was gone and out of the classroom. However she didn't make it very far out of the classroom before she was approached by someone else she didn't want to talk to about anything. "Finn, if it's not important please spare me whatever you want to say." Rachel said as she continued down the hallway to the auditorium.

"It's, it's important." He said as he caught up to her with his much longer stride. Rachel huffed as he spoke before she could get a word in, "it's about Saturday! I saw you jogging on Saturday with Quinn and Brittany and I just thought you should know that I think Quinn is in love with you! She was staring after you when you had to leave! I'm pretty sure she was staring at your uh, butt." He said hurriedly before Rachel could interrupt him. "You know how Quinn's always been obsessed with you, right? I swear she likes you or something and it's … well it's weird. I don't think you should be friends with her anymore Rachel."

With a huff Rachel stopped, stared him down from her disadvantaged height, and crossed her arms in front of her. She was scary Rachel right now. "I don't care what you think you saw Finn! I've had this conversation more times than I care to just today alone and this is quite ridiculous. I'm sure I would be able to tell if Quinn wasn't being an honest friend to me Finn. I mean, how long have I actually believed in you really feeling something about me, supposedly loving me?" Rachel's eyes were so sad that it left Finn speechless. It was true, not long after they broke up he had gone out with someone else. He shifted his eyes away guiltily. "Leave me alone now Finn, I'm already late in meeting someone." And with that Rachel practically ran to the auditorium and she breathed a sigh of relief when she heard the familiar sound of Quinn playing her violin. The song was another soothing piece that made Rachel relax and smile. It was so beautiful. Quinn looked up and acknowledged that she saw Rachel but continued playing the song to its entirety before she spoke.

"You're late Rachel, the impeccable, down to the last second, always on time or earlier, Rachel Barbra Berry was six minutes late!" Quinn said with a teasing smile, causing Rachel to huff but burst into a giggle just a moment later. "What held you up? I know you wouldn't be late otherwise." Quinn was still smiling as Rachel made her way to sit next to Quinn on the floor.

She gave an exasperated sigh. "Well, quite a few people decided to approach me today to tell me something really interesting!" Rachel said annoyance more than present in her tone. "You know, everyone keeps saying that you're in love with me. Funny, right?" Rachel rolled her eyes as she gave a little chuckle. "My dads told me that they are convinced you're in love with me because of how you look at me, Mercedes said that she had suspected it for a while, and then _Finn_ did, too!" Rachel laughed a little derisively as she glanced over at Quinn, who had paled slightly at that. "It's quite funny, isn't it?"

Quinn seemed to get over her shock and chuckle along, unconvincingly, "sure." It seemed as if it was making Quinn uncomfortable and so Rachel felt the need to apologize.

"Don't take it the wrong way Quinn! I'm sure that they're delusional and just seeing things that aren't there! I didn't mean to make you feel so uncomfortable Quinn! Please don't think anything of it." Rachel's expression was apologetic now as she watched Quinn's face smooth over slightly.

"It's okay, it's just … it's very strange to hear that all of them keep telling you that I have a crush on you, or well, rather that I'm in love with you. It … what reason did they have for telling you something like that?" Quinn asked gently, some color had come back to Quinn's cheeks as she seemingly calmed down.

"I honestly don't know. My dads said that they watched you carefully while you were hanging out at my house on Friday and Mercedes said she suspected for a little while. She also said something about how you were happy after hanging out with me on Friday night. And then _Finn_," Rachel emphasized his name again, "was apparently at the park on Saturday, watching us jog. Kurt already told me that he was there with his dad and Carole and Finn so I know that part's true but he had the audacity to tell me that you were staring at my derriere like a pervert!"

Internally Quinn was panicking but on the outside she showed absolutely none of it. Quinn thought that if Rachel's reaction was this bad … how bad would it be for her to find out that Quinn was indeed her secret admirer? God, she would freak out and probably slap her or something as dramatic! "That's really strange. I wonder how they all got to that conclusion from seeing us hang out."

Nodding her head Rachel continued, "I mean … I've already forgiven you for your past transgression toward me but for you to be in love with me all of a sudden is just too sudden and bizarre! I don't know where they came up with something so outlandish!"

Rachel eventually moved on from that topic and they enjoyed lunch together but Quinn was dreading Friday. She was dreading confessing to Rachel if this was her reaction to finding out from other people that they suspected Quinn's feelings for her. It made her heart ache to see Rachel's confusion and outright denial of _any_ possibility of a relationship with her. Quinn decided that she shouldn't dwell on it and just enjoy their time spent together as friends for now. That was more important.

X

Tuesday came and went like a whirlwind. Wednesday was much the same and now it was Thursday. The day before C-day(confession day) was at hand. Quinn was a nervous wreck and Rachel was a bit of the opposite and floating on cloud 9 everywhere she went. Nothing could ruin her day.

Santana watched in amusement as Quinn ran the Cheerios harder than usual from her spot doing stretched with Brittany. Brittany was giving Quinn sympathetic looks as she made up a new dance routine for the competition closing in. The Cheerios' competition routine had already been set but Glee Club's choreography for the upcoming Regionals' competition in two months had not been made up yet. It had come as a surprise that Mr. Schue was being responsible enough to actually have the routine made up this far in advance and the set list had been easy enough to come upon seeing as they were using original songs. Nobody was surprised by the fact that the group number was easy but the solo song had yet to be chosen as everyone was still writing songs, still finding _the song_ to use.

The smirk fell from Santana's face when Brittany stepped in front of her, "San, don't do that." Brittany said reprovingly. Before Santana could feign innocence, "I know that you're making fun of Quinn in your head for being so nervous about tomorrow. You know that you would be the same way too if you had to confess to me. I think you were worse actually because we weren't on the Cheerios yet and you were so innocent then!" Brittany said with a big smile on her face.

Santana, for her part, was blushing bright red, so red in fact that it could be seen despite her tan skin tone. "Brit~! You said you weren't going to ever mention that in public! You promised!" Santana said in a whiny voice and with a slight pout on her lips. It was something that Santana almost never did in public but the girls were distracted by Quinn's harder than usual practice. She was pretty sure someone was about ready to pass out right now.

Brittany smiled and closed the gap between them for a chaste but firm kiss. "You're so cute San." Santana groaned again which just made Brittany smile wider at how cute Santana could be when she let her guard down like this. "You know you are, so stop groaning. It makes me hot thinking about you groaning because that's usually reserved for when I'm doing certain things to you." Santana clenched her eyes shut and let herself imagine that for a minute before she was broken out of her fantasy by Quinn's voice.

"Hey! There will be no puking on this field! If you need to barf go to the garbage can over there! It's the Cheerios barf bucket!" Quinn yelled as someone barely made it over to the garbage before retching noises could be heard from her position over ten feet away from the field. It was that far away for a reason after all. Santana grimaced as the sound carried over to her and Brittany frowned as she turned around. Even Brittany had to admit that Quinn was being a bit harsher than usual and went to fix it, hopefully.

"Hey, Q, you might want to go a little bit easier on them. We don't want the whole team to start feeling sick and going over to the barf bucket. It would really make the field stink and it'd be really hard for them to all fit around there." Brittany said with a slight pout on her face. Quinn rubbed her face as she nodded her agreement.

"I guess I'll ease up a little. It wouldn't exactly make my day if all of them started throwing up at the same time." Quinn said gently before she started barking orders at the Cheerios again. "Okay! Enough suicides! Time to practice the routine again! From the top! I want to see perfection from all of you!" She yelled as she watched the relief pass over all of the girl's faces for getting a reprieve from the demonic practice Quinn had them enduring.

Before long practice was over and Quinn thought about the flower that she had slipped into Rachel's locker today and the note she had left her. As Quinn showered she thought about how the Arum meant 'intense feeling of love' and how accurate it was. Quinn had been intensely in love with Rachel for years and her frustration led to her fixation on Rachel, almost an obsessive degree of bullying. She always knew where Rachel was and it surprised her that she hadn't succumbed to those feelings sooner. It was especially surprising that her hormones during her pregnancy hadn't led to her taking Rachel in a bathroom somewhere or during one of her performances in Glee Club. God, how she had wanted Rachel so much then, wanted to take Rachel against any available surface.

_The Arum is the symbol for intense feelings of love and how I love you so. I love you so much and you'll never know. You mean so much to me … I sometimes wonder how you can't even see. I've been right in front of you this whole time, waiting for you to notice me loving you for so long. Well, the wait is almost over and tomorrow you'll know who I am who I've been this whole time but I just pray that you are true, that you won't ever judge me. I've heard you say it so many times before, that you'll never judge anyone and that you won't judge me in particular. I can only pray that you'll reciprocate my feelings for you. I'll leave it for tomorrow._

It was almost nerve wrecking, knowing that in just another day Rachel would know who she was, would know how she felt. It was crazy and it made Quinn feel sick with anxiety. She hardly ate any breakfast this morning and she could already hear Santana's inner dialogue just from seeing the smirk on her face. Santana's mocking voice telling Quinn all of the ways this could go terribly wrong.

Internal thoughts she wish she could voice ran through her mind. She remembered Rachel's almost psychotic reaction to the suggestion that Quinn's feelings were more than platonic was extremely disheartening. It made Quinn even more nervous, even more terrified to tell Rachel the truth, to confess her feelings. Who in their right mind took the simple suggestion that someone else, a friend, might have feelings for them and act like they were crazy for even suggesting it? Acting like it was the last possible thing that could ever happen on earth even? That just made Quinn's nerves feel shot but she made a promise and she damn well was going to keep it no matter what! Even if in the end it was what killed her heart.

Quinn would do it, no matter what, tomorrow. Even if her nerves killed her.

X

And here it is! A slightly shorter chapter but hopefully the next one is a little bit longer for everyone!

姫宮光る


	7. Incredible

Chapter 7

Incredible

X

The day of the confession had come too soon for Quinn and not nearly soon enough for Rachel. Quinn was standing next to Rachel's locker for a change, saying that she wanted to be mental support for Rachel finding out who her secret admirer was.

Of course, Rachel didn't know that Quinn had given her something else that wasn't necessarily a confession just yet. Rachel was squealing as she put her locker combination in, "I'm so excited Quinn! My secret admirer is finally going to confess today!" Rachel was telling Quinn as if she hadn't told her at least four times this week already and Quinn just smiled indulgently as Rachel saw that there was not only one but _two_ flowers in her locker today. A Four Leaf Clover with a little design connecting each leaf together when pushed against each other and a White Violet with the edges tinged violet still.

_The Four Leaf Clover asks you "will you be mine?" while the White Violet is saying "let's take a chance." I decided to make this a little bit more special for you by giving you two flowers today as well as the promised confession. Please come back to check your locker after school for further instructions. I know that you must be feeling quite impatient right now but I want this moment to be private and special. If you can just wait a few hours longer I promise to tell you who I am. I want this to be a moment that you will remember for the rest of your life because it is so special, so wonderful, and so unbelievably incredible. I want this moment to be unforgettable and unique; I want it to be Rachel Barbra Berry special._

_LF_

"So?" Quinn asked the one word simply as she watched Rachel's reaction. It had gone from excited to extremely focused and concentrated to an almost contained smile of pure joy. She looked ecstatic as she read it.

"She told me that she wants to make this moment special, the confession and revelation to be _incredible_ and she is unbelievably romantic for it." Rachel said with a swoon.

Quinn sighed as she spoke up, "what if … what if the person you find waiting for you to be someone you don't want them to be? Isn't that why they waited so long to tell you who they are?" Quinn needed to play the devil's advocate right now, to make sure Rachel had no doubts about her desire to find out who her secret admirer was. She couldn't have doubts or else Quinn would be too shaken, too nervous … too _scared_ to reveal herself to her. She had to be entirely sure of it. She knew that she had to but that didn't make it any easier for her, especially because of the spotty past she had with the tiny diva. Just knowing that Rachel would know who she was in just a few hours made Quinn nervous but she would tell her no matter what. If she didn't she would regret it for the rest of her life, wondering: _what if?_

It was as if Rachel couldn't understand Quinn's question. It was almost as if she couldn't comprehend such a thought. "What … what are you saying Quinn? I'm not … it's not as if I just randomly said yes to find out who she is just because I'm curious. She's so sweet and romantic, so kind, so shy, and most of all she has such a beautiful personality. That's the reason I want to know who she is so much. She took the time to write all of these romantic notes and poems, took the time to buy these flowers and put them into my locker every single day without fail. I mean I do feel the slightest reservation because she _has_ been breaking into my locker to do so but she's never stolen anything so I trust her. I mean even if she had stolen something I wouldn't have been able to go up to her and demand for it back if she'd decided to become a thief all of a sudden." Even Rachel was aware that she was on a tangent and she paused to refocus her thoughts "Anyways, what I'm just trying to say is, I understand your reservations because you're a cautious person but … I'm sure that as long as my admirer doesn't turn out to be the like of Jacob Ben Israel, I'm sure I'll give them a chance."

Quinn nodded her head in acceptance. "I understand that. I'm just … well, I'm trying to play the devil's advocate because I want make sure that _you're_ sure you're ready to find out who your secret admirer is. I just don't want you to be too disappointed if you don't like who they turn out to be." Quinn had spoken almost nonchalantly, tried to be a little _too_ nonchalant for Rachel not to notice something.

Her eyebrows furrowed as she looked at Quinn's expression. It would make sense if Quinn knew who they secret admirer was because of how she had regarded them in the past! Quinn, Quinn _knew_ who the secret admirer was! Rachel could just tell! "Quinn … you know who my secret admirer is, don't you?"

The way Quinn's eyes shifted away so quickly and her too fast response of, "no." Had been the tipoff and Rachel knew in that moment that Quinn did in fact know who the secret admirer was.

Her response was swift, "you _do_ know who the secret admirer is! I can tell Quinn! I know how to read you now and I know you know who they are!" Rachel didn't look angry or upset, just surprised by the revelation.

"Okay, okay, yes I do know who your secret admirer is but I couldn't tell you because they obviously didn't want me to tell you because of all of the secrecy. I couldn't tell you even if I did know! I don't even talk to your secret admirer anyways. I don't make it a habit to talk to people who don't want other people to know who they are to begin with." Quinn sighed as she finally looked at Rachel and apologized. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you that I know who your secret admirer is Rachel." Quinn looked like a kicked puppy and it made Rachel's heart melt from the rare and unbelievably cute look on the normally fierce cheerleader's face.

Rachel had a private 'awe' moment in her mind as she pulled Quinn into her in a gentle hug. Quinn's eyes widened for a moment before she returned the hug. "It's okay Quinn, I understand you not saying anything. I would have probably pestered you endlessly if you'd known. Especially from the very beginning! I would have bothered you about the identity of my admirer and you would have probably gotten annoyed with me. I know I'm not the easiest person to tell these things to because of my need to know anything and everything. I just want you to know that I'm not angry, upset, or annoyed with you in anyway. I have no reason to be." Rachel smiled as she pulled away from Quinn's arms. Rachel loved how affectionate Quinn allowed her to be with hugs and hand holding, particularly in public! Quinn was an excellent hugger and Rachel loved how safe and warm she felt in Quinn's arms. She was also the perfect height to hug too! Everything about this Quinn was amazing.

The smile on Quinn's face told Rachel she had handled this situation well. It made Rachel's heart swell to see how far Quinn had come in terms of how well she took to hugs and other such things. Rachel had always been very outwardly affectionate towards people she cared about and Quinn wasn't as open to it in the beginning. Now though, this was what Rachel called progress. "I'm going to head off to class now. I'll see you later, Rachel." Quinn even smiled that soft smile that seemed reserved for her. It had Rachel thinking back to the last week and how all of those people said Quinn was either crushing on her or in love with her. That wasn't a good thought so Rachel brushed it off quickly even though it seemed almost true sometimes … occasionally … more often than she wanted to actually admit to right now. Or ever really.

"Okay, see you at lunch Quinn!" Rachel said but Quinn shook her head.

"I'm sorry but I forgot I had something else I needed to do at lunch today. Maybe you can sit with someone else today? I don't want you to be all by yourself in the auditorium today." Quinn said, a small frown marring her face that made Rachel smile. Quinn was so thoughtful it was adorable coming from her.

"I'll be okay. I suppose I can sit with the other Glee kids. I usually hang out in the auditorium so that Finn doesn't bother me. On second thought I'll just go to the auditorium even I'll be alone." Rachel said with a frown.

They were silent for a moment before Quinn spoke up, "I can try to finish up early and then come to the auditorium so you won't be alone the whole time, maybe?" The way Quinn added the maybe made Rachel's chest do a weird fluttery thing because of how cute it was.

"It's settled then! I'll see you later if you can finish up whatever it is you need to do early!" Rachel said with a bright smile as they departed ways.

X

Quinn was glad that Rachel hadn't inquired about what it was she needed to do. It was actually a relief because Quinn didn't want to have to lie. There was no way she could have told Rachel that she wanted to practice a song in the choir room because Rachel would have wanted to know what song it was. She would have wanted to sit in and listen to Quinn sing and perhaps give her constructive criticism. Quinn absolutely could not allow Rachel to hear the song she was rehearsing under any circumstances and so Quinn was more than a little glad that Rachel hadn't felt the need to ask what Quinn was doing.

The song was something she wrote and she felt such a personal connection to the song. It was definitely a song that encompassed exactly how she felt and it was almost a perfect description of their relationship. It made sense to Quinn to sing Rachel a song like this and it felt good to be able to express herself to Rachel through this song. Quinn sighed as she worked the kinks in the song out and made sure her vocals were strong enough to carry through this song. Quinn glanced at the clock and saw that it had already been twenty minutes into the lunch period. She had already practiced the song three times already in those twenty minutes and she had been practicing the song after school since last week when she'd made the promise. She probably wasn't going to get any better at it.

Without wasting another second hesitating Quinn walked out of the choir room only to bump into Finn seemingly lurking in the hallways for some reason. He was obviously out of place in the otherwise empty hallway and it gave Quinn a bad feeling about his appearance. The way he was standing with his hands in his pocket as he leaned against lockers only a few feet away from the choir room. Of course Quinn had closed the choir room door to ensure no one would be able to overhear her singing that easily but that didn't mean much if someone was leaning against the door to listen. She couldn't tell for sure if he had done so or not.

"I wasn't listening if you were wondering. I just saw you in here and I wanted to talk to you about something." Though his tone wasn't as friendly as it normally was he didn't seem threatening. Of course that meant absolutely nothing to Quinn in the least considering his bad temper and the checkered past she'd had with him. That was mostly her fault more so than his though.

She hesitated before she said, "Okay, what did you want to talk to me about?" She paused before she said, "I'm late to meet with someone." And those words made Finn frown in thought because Rachel had said the same thing a few days ago.

He broke out of it to respond, "I just wanted to say … whatever you think you feel for Rachel isn't real so … don't tell her."

That was the last thing she had expected from Finn of all people to say. He wasn't exactly the sharpest crayon in the box and any other metaphor for not quite smart. It made slight bewilderment show on Quinn's controlled face. She hadn't thought he would have been able to tell, "What are you talking about Finn? You're mistaken, I'm sure. I'm just friends with Rachel." She was feeling panicked in her mind but outwardly showed none of it.

Finn's brows furrowed as he tried to tell if she was lying or not. "I can't tell if you're lying or not or even what you're thinking about right now but … just don't do it okay? You've never really been in love with someone and every time you have a relationship it's always fake and you're always just using whoever you're with. I don't want you to hurt Rachel like that because I know you can't possibly really love Rachel or feel anything close to that for her." What Finn said left Quinn feeling stunned and before Quinn could respond in any way he was walking away like he never had this conversation with her. It made her panic though. _I made a promise and I have to keep it no matter what Finn says even if what he says hurts a lot and is partially true_.

Shaking her thoughts off she rushed to the auditorium where she knew Rachel was waiting for her and forced herself to calm down on the walk to the auditorium. She couldn't let Rachel know that Finn had shaken her by talking to her as if he … somehow _knew_ about her feelings for Rachel. It was very disconcerting but she would leave it alone for now. She couldn't let his words affect her like this. It would make her chicken out in the end but she made a promise and she would be damned if she didn't keep it!

Just as she got to the auditorium door she felt someone hug her from behind, "Quinn! You have excellent timing!" Rachel's slightly muffled voice spoke near her ear.

Quinn nearly jumped out of her skin in fright but her always controlled mask allowed her to merely twitch slightly in surprise. "Rachel, you were far too quiet for someone normally very loud."

Rachel's giggling voice met her ears and her body broke out into goosebumps at the feeling of Rachel's breath so close to her skin. It was a little suffocating to feel so much but know that Rachel didn't even mean to do this, hadn't intended to make Quinn's body break out in high alert from her proximity alone. She didn't even know how much she affected her just by being this close in such an intimate embrace. Quinn almost forgot how to speak, how to form coherent words from the feeling of Rachel's front pressing into her back. It was only slightly maddening.

"Did I startle you Quinn?" At Quinn's nod Rachel giggled again. "That's so cute! You're known for being the HBIC, the scariest cheerleader in all of McKinley and yet I startled you! That's so adorable Quinn!" Rachel's happy mood was infectious because Quinn began smiling despite herself. It was cute that Rachel was so giddy about startling her. Quinn placed her hands on top of the ones Rachel currently had wrapped around her stomach.

"Don't get used to it Rach. Only very few privileged people are allowed to startle me without me immediately punching them in the face in retribution." That made Rachel slightly unsure of herself for just a moment before she realized Quinn had just said that she was _one of few_ who wouldn't have to worry about being punched in the face. It made Rachel smile even wider and she felt even giddier than she had earlier.

"Awe, Quinn! Are you saying that you like me too much to ever punch me in the face? We've come so far from when you would threaten to punch me in the face for talking too much!" And just hearing that hurt and made Quinn's smile drop and somehow, despite not being able to see her face, Rachel could tell. "Quinn, don't start pouting and acting dejected just because I said that. We have a past and though it wasn't exactly a positive past we can only move on from now on. I like where we are right now and I don't plan on _not_ having your friendship any time soon!" Just like that Rachel was able to assuage Quinn's fears.

"Where did you come from anyways Rachel?" Rachel could even hear the smile in Quinn's voice and she rested her head against Quinn's back, seemingly not having any plans on moving anytime soon from her nest against Quinn's back.

"I was in need of using the facilities and on my way back to the auditorium I saw you walking ahead of me and I decided to catch up. I hadn't actually meant to sneak up on you but apparently I did and now here we are, in front of the auditorium again!" Quinn rolled her eyes at herself not even noticing that Rachel had been behind her. "I really like this side of you Quinn, this part of you that is the _real_ you and not the, you, you pretend to be in front of everyone else. This, you, is so much kinder, so much easier to be around, to breathe around, and to be friends with. This you can allow herself to joke around and have fun, to let loose, and express her interests. I love this Quinn who has become my dearest friend and is happy being friends with me. This Quinn is my friend and is my favorite Quinn out of all of the Quinn's I've ever met."

Quinn felt her breath catch as she heard Rachel say that she loved her even if it was only in the context of friendship. Quinn could definitely feel her eyes warm with tears of joy from hearing Rachel express this. This was what gave Quinn the courage to be brave, to tell Rachel the absolute truth and reveal herself as the secret admirer. This was what Quinn had been looking for earlier.

X

Rachel was beaming during Glee Club and everyone just tried to avoid ruining her good mood. It was as if the club had unanimously decided to make sure Rachel's good mood lasted because she wasn't running them ragged like the slave driver she normally was. They would've been more worried if Rachel was actually quiet about her happiness but she was still as … _opinionated_ as ever, they would use that word. She didn't make everyone show their latest attempts at writing original songs, which was weird, but she did say they still needed to practice the routine Brittany had come up with for their song _Loser Like Me_ however lacking in conviction that statement was. Sure they practiced the song but they only practiced _twice_, something they had _never_ done before. It was always from the top at least six times before Rachel would let them go.

Kurt and Mercedes were whispering to each other in their corner, looking slightly worried about why Rachel was looking this way and Quinn was not. It obviously meant that Quinn hadn't won Rachel over yet and despite that Rachel was acting like she was on cloud 9. Finn for his part was watching Rachel with furrowed eyes because, again, Quinn wasn't acting as if anything had changed between them. And then there was Brittany smiling happily, more than aware of the impending confession, while Santana was either rolling her eyes or actually smirking from amusement. Of course Santana was mostly just happy because Rachel wasn't being as … _forceful_ as she usually was about demanding practice be extended and instead seemed eager for all of it to be over and done with as soon as possible. It was like Christmas … except even _better_

For the most part most of the club was unaware of why Rachel was acting so giddy, well actually almost no one really knew. Kurt, Mercedes, and Finn were all wondering about Quinn. Brittany and Santana were obviously in on it and Rachel definitely knew why she was giddy. As for the rest … they were just glad that Rachel wasn't pushing everyone to work until they dropped, even the dancers in Mike couldn't handle Rachel's intensity, and even then she wanted another run through of the dance! No one could technically fault them for their thoughts and for the fact that this was part of their need for self-preservation.

Even Mr. Schue didn't want to ruin Rachel's good mood! "Okay guys, I think we've done enough practicing for now and we should work on writing those songs because songs just don't write themselves!" He said enthusiastically. "Write something that means something to you! Use your lives as inspiration! It could be something that really changed you in a good way, something that touched you so deeply it motivates you, or maybe something inspiring like _Loser Like Me_! Something with a message could really wow the judges with the inspirational message we're giving them!" He said with the intent of being motivational but seeming a little too enthusiastic. He had always blatantly shown that he was living vicariously through them. "Okay, keep that in mind and I want to see what you come up with after the weekend, guys. Dismissed!"

Rachel bounded out of the room faster than anyone else and it was like she was a jack rabbit and she made it to her locker so quickly there was proverbial dust in her wake. A wind cloud of sorts even. Rachel put her combination in wrong twice out of excitement and finally calmed herself down enough to actually put it on the right number before she opened her locker eagerly. She read the note over quickly for the instructions and sweet words on the page. She also found another set of flowers.

_These flowers are aptly named thus: the Almond Blossom, the white flower with a pink pistil and the Edelweiss, the white flower with a yellow pistil. The Almond Blossom is known for symbolizing hope and my hope is that you accept me for who I turn out to be. The Edelweiss is known for meaning courage, daring, to be brave. And that's what I want to be right now: brave. Brave for you to tell you who I am and how I've been here the whole time, known you, the whole time and how sorry I am all of this had to be a secret but I can only hope that however you take who I am, that you at least believe that this is real, that my feelings for you are indeed real and so very genuine. This is to you Rachel Berry. I will be waiting in the auditorium for you as it symbolizes many things for both of us and our shared passion for music._

_LQF_

LQF? It couldn't be. There was no way it could possibly be … _her _… could it? Rachel shook her head thinking it couldn't possibly be feasible in any way. Before Rachel could even move someone tapped her on the shoulder. "To what do I owe the civility Santana?" She asked, confused by Santana's conflicting actions. She had been nice enough to tap her shoulder to get her attention and yet everything about her screamed that she would rather be somewhere else right now.

"Okay, this just makes me want to do this even less, _Berry_." Santana said her name with such venom Rachel gave her an apologetic expression and Santana relaxed slightly. "Anyways I just … I wanted to tell you something. Don't get mad at Quinn but she kind of told me about you having a secret admirer and even if she hadn't I would have guessed anyways from the fact that I just saw stuff that screams secret admirer in your locker." Santana was quick to add that last part before Rachel went on some kind of rant about something or other about privacy invasion. "Moving on, I just wanted to say … when you find out who she is … don't be too disappointed or upset or anything all right? Your admirer is fucking terrified of confessing to you and she doesn't need her fears to be confirmed by you freaking out and probably walking right out of wherever you're supposed to go meet up. Your admirer's scared _shitless_ about telling you who they are but just … hear them out okay? These things aren't easy and she's not exactly someone who's full of courage and bravery like you asked of them in that song you sang in Glee Club a few weeks ago. They're just a girl asking you for something they've never really had before: acceptance." Santana somehow was kinder and more sensitive than Rachel had ever seen her. "And if you ever tell anyone, I swear to all that is holy and unholy I will tear you a new one." And just like that nice Santana was gone and never to be seen again unless Brittany showed up … or sometimes Quinn.

That was also the most Rachel was sure she had ever heard Santana speak in one sitting in her entire life.

X

It was the moment of truth now and there was no going back now. Rachel was standing in front of the auditorium and she had been pacing in front of it for at least five minutes before she just stood there and gathered up her courage to enter the room. With a deep breath for luck and because of her nerves Rachel pushed the doors open to hear someone singing a song to her.

You said it's over

I said, "That's okay, I wasn't into you anyway"

I told you, "Lately, you irritate me

Your laugh is too loud, you're the last girl I'd look at

If you were in a crowd"

That voice registered to Rachel's trained ears even before she really saw who was singing to her and it made Rachel's heart race. Rachel really should have known better. There were so many signs, so many signals, so many clues, and so many people warning her and yet she had refuted all of it. The evidence was singing to her right now, evidence that they were all right and she should have listened, should have known to actually listen to her mind as well as everyone else who told her that it would be Lucy Quinn Fabray singing to her right now, confessing. Rachel felt so stupid but she would at least let Quinn finish her song.

Could you tell?  
>I was lying and hiding the truth away<p>

And what I really wanted to say

Is you are incredible

You are amazing, you blow mind

One of a kind, I'm having a meltdown

You are incredible, you are amazing

But sometimes telling the truth

Is easier said than done, "Don't leave baby"

Now that's what I meant to say

As Rachel listened to the lyrics of the song and concentrated on hearing the way Quinn sang she couldn't help but think Quinn should have the solo for Regionals. Honestly, this was a very good song and Quinn had it perfected. It was a very good song with catchy lyrics and composition. Rachel was also unaware of the fact that Quinn was versed enough to play the guitar relatively well as she sang this song. That would make it an even better performance if Quinn also played the guitar while she sang this song on the Regionals stage.

"My world's not ending, I'll be just fine"  
>That's what my mouth said<p>

But not what I felt inside

I told you, "Baby, you're not the answer

To all of my prayers, 'cos I like my girlfriends

In short skirts with longer hair"

She was actually a bit amused by these lines because she could tell Quinn was using past experience to write it other than the fact that they had fought over guys. Quinn was clearly expressing her homosexuality in a positive way that made Rachel proud even if she had mixed feelings about this song right now for obvious various reasons.

Could you tell?

I was lying and hiding the truth away

And what I really wanted to say

Is you are incredible

You are amazing, you blow my mind

One of a kind, I'm having a meltdown

You are incredible, you are amazing

But sometimes telling the truth

Is easier said than done, "Don't leave baby"

Now that's what I meant to say

At this point Rachel actually hated herself for wanting to join in and actually slipping a little because if Quinn's startled but happy face was any indication she had heard her sing a little bit of the refrain just now. It wasn't her fault this was a catchy and upbeat song! It made her feel as if had this song been performed during Glee Club she would have been standing up like everyone else and dancing and singing along.

Well, I said

"I didn't care about what you felt about me"

Couldn't care less about what I'd said or done

I didn't mean it, it's not what I meant to say

You know the truth is that

I care about what you think about me

Maybe too much, I've been putting on a front

I didn't mean it and what I meant to say

It was hard but Rachel resisted the urge to start singing along again as she felt herself become washed over by the song yet again. She almost couldn't help the fact that this song was affecting her so much because it was Quinn singing about her feelings in a way Rachel almost didn't know she was capable of. In another world, in a different dimension, Rachel would have been swooning and freely showing how much she loved it all. It was incredibly, _haha, incredibly_ romantic and it would have made Rachel say yes in a heartbeat … so why wasn't she doing that right now?

Is you are incredible

You are amazing, you blow my mind

One of a kind, I'm having a meltdown

You are incredible, you are amazing

But sometimes telling the truth

Is easier said than done

Rachel could tell that the song was coming to a close, that it was almost over and she almost didn't want it to end. The end of the song meant that she would have to give Quinn an answer and she was sure it was the answer Quinn didn't want to hear. It was the answer Rachel had chosen and Quinn probably wouldn't understand it at all but it was the only answer Rachel could give. Of course Rachel had other questions first and foremost before telling Quinn the definitive answer of whether or not she accepted, whether she reciprocated or not. It was not an easy answer in the least.

Yeah, yeah, telling the truth

Is easier said than done

Can't you see, telling the truth?

Is easier said than done, "Don't leave baby"

Now that's what I meant to say

Even though it was amazingly sweet, touching, cute, endearing, charming, and just about anything else positive Rachel could possibly think of … she had to say no. There was no way she could say yes because it was too good to be true. All of this, the romantic wooing, the way she bared herself for all of Rachel to see in those notes, all of those flowers, being so kind, being her friend, and especially making her fall for her. Every single bit of this was just too good to be true, to be _real_. It hurt, she couldn't help but feel slightly betrayed by this, by the fact that it had take Quinn that much time to confess her true feelings for her. Then again her taking the time and effort to do all of this was extraordinarily sweet but all the same. How could she believe this was even real no matter what fancy, sweet words she had written? Was there any way she could actually take a chance and believe that this was real? That Quinn's feelings could possibly, really be genuine?

"I … I know that this must come as a shock to you because I wouldn't tell you who I was until now. Even if it isn't a shock it's real and it's not … it's never been anything but me showing you how I feel, how much I really do care and love you. I've been in love with you since the moment we met and … it scared me, terrified me and so I latched onto the nearest guy possible: Finn. And then when I got pregnant I wanted to prove that I could be straight, could learn to actually force myself to be okay with having sex with a guy. I regretted it before it even happened but I obviously regretted it more after I became pregnant. I kept thinking and wondering during that time. If I had been honest with myself and my feelings for you … would any of this have ever happened?" Quinn gave a self-deprecating laugh that pulled at Rachel's heart strings, made Rachel's heart ache with sorrow for the girl. Not pity, never pity, but she just felt sad for Quinn and her situation. Quinn hadn't been able to be herself or be honest with her true self until after she was kicked out of her parents' home. That was deplorable and sad on Quinn's parents' part. "I … should have told you what I meant to say, what I meant every time I insulted you, told you that you were something that you're not. I think you're beautiful, incredible, amazing, talented, and what I mean by beautiful is not just your face but who you are inside. It makes my heart race when you smile because of me, it makes me swoon whenever you hug me or hold my hand, it makes me shiver when I know you're standing so close to me, it makes my heart ache when I see something I know was my fault. I know that sometimes you'll just look away with a look that says you don't think you're as astounding as I think you are." Quinn couldn't say anymore because then Rachel was speaking.

"Stop, Quinn, please. Just stop." Rachel took a deep breath before she continued. "This, this was unbelievably sweet and … charming, romantic, and any girl would be lucky to have you as their girlfriend …" Quinn could hear the 'but' before Rachel said it. "But that girl isn't me. I'm sorry but this is all so hard to believe … I don't even know if I actually believe it at all. I can see all of the effort you took into this confession, almost three months worth of flowers, but I … I'm not sure if I can say yes to you right now Quinn. My … head and my heart are telling me two entirely different things and … it seems that my head is currently winning, it's in the lead over what my heart is telling me." It was swift and unexpected. Quinn felt the tears streaming down her face before she even realized she was crying at all. "Quinn, don't cry, please don't cry and don't make this any harder than it has to be."

"I'm not, I'm not crying." Quinn denied with such an anguished look on her face Rachel felt her heart break into ground up pieces of dust. "I don't," Quinn reached up and felt the hot tears still streaming down her face. And the fact that Quinn didn't even know she was crying made Rachel's heart break even further. "I … I told you before that if you didn't accept me then I would accept that. I won't … I won't chase you anymore, I won't … I won't ever talk about this again and I certainly won't ever approach you about my feelings anymore." Quinn's smile looked like the most broken smile Rachel had ever seen in her entire life.

Rachel was almost desperate as she said this, "we can, we can still be friends Quinn. I won't treat you any differently." Rachel said.

"Sure." Before Rachel could say anything else Quinn was rushing out of the auditorium so swiftly it was as if she was running away from her instead of running to her.

As soon as Quinn made it out of the auditorium she was enveloped by strong arms. "I can already tell without you saying anything but I expect the details later Q." Quinn nodded her head against her best friend.

Another set of arms enveloped her before she could say a single word. "I thought … well I saw how much Rachel cares about you so … I don't understand. I think … actually that she's just scared to say yes and that's why she said no." Brittany said with a sad smile on her face for her best friend. "You can keep trying!" Quinn shook her head in response.

"I already promised not to … not to try and get her to say yes if she said no. I can't do that B."

The next day of school after a hard weekend full of moping and dodging her father's questions Rachel saw something she hadn't been expecting in her locker. It was one last flower, a dark pink color, and one last note. Rachel thought it a bit odd but the flower looked a bit … droopy for some reason. It looked like it hadn't seen sunlight for some time and maybe it had been in her locker since before the weekend started.

_This is called a Cyclamen and it means … it stands for Goodbye, Resignation. I'm saying both of those things to you now. I promised that I would give up and I am, I'm giving up now Rachel. So … this is goodbye._

_Lucy Quinn Fabray_

What did … what did that note mean? What was that supposed to mean? And Rachel looked up from the note looking around frantically in search of a blonde. She looked everywhere and didn't see her anywhere at all. She did however see Brittany standing somewhere and after rushing towards them she also saw Santana. They both looked sad, which was odd because Brittany was always happy and Santana was always angry or smirking. They hadn't even noticed her when she blurted out, "where is Quinn?"

They both looked at her in surprised then looked at each other. "She's not here," was all Brittany said. Her eyes darted away from Rachel nervously. This answer made Rachel even more nervous and anxious.

"What … what do you mean she's not here? Quinn's only ever missed school once and that was the day after she was kicked out of her home." Santana glared at her.

"Look, hobbit, you broke her heart and now she's gone AWOL. We both tried calling her and texting her this weekend to silence. We also went to the Jones' house but she never came home after we left school. Well, Mercedes said she wasn't there but that could mean a lot of things. Either way, we don't … we don't know where she is." There was worry in Santana's tone and that lead Rachel to believe something was terribly wrong.

She didn't say anything else before she ran over to find Mercedes. "Mercedes! What's happened to Quinn?" Mercedes gave her a startled look.

"I told her that she could stay but she left. It's not my fault my older brother flunked out of college." Mercedes' frown was evident. She looked hurt. "She said that she had somewhere else to stay and then left. She packed up some stuff into, like, two boxes and then she left just like that and now I don't know where she's gone off to or where she is because she didn't say anything before she left. All she said was she had somewhere else to go now." And that left Rachel with a feeling of dread.

X

Okay so this was a majorly sad chapter with a cliffhanger but not to worry! I gave fluff before this happened and then the next chapter will start off with a sad note but not to worry fans! Everything will turn out all right in the end! Trust me! Please read, review, and I hope to see everyone the next chapter!

姫宮光る


	8. Worried

Chapter 8

Worried

I never leave author notes like this but I want to forewarn my lovely readers that there is quite a bit of swearing in this chapter and it is heavy swearing, too. Well happy reading, hopefully! =P

X

As soon as school was over Quinn had gone over to the Jones' residence only to find out that Ford, Mercedes' older brother, had flunked out of college he was taking his room back. It wasn't a big deal, Quinn had just packed up her things despite all of the Jones' insistence that she could stay in their home, and left after thanking them for their kindness. She told them that she would no longer be a burden to all of them as she gave every single one of them a hug. Mercedes looked sad and upset in every way but Quinn couldn't bring herself to stay any longer. Quinn had a job that paid decently, more than minimum wage by a whole dollar per hour! She could afford something else so the Jones' didn't have to take care of her anymore. She had also left the Jones' family a $1000 check on the table before she left. They told her that they didn't need it, that she could stay. They didn't want her to leave but she had to, she needed to do this for herself. And so with a sad farewell she left the only people who had ever really treated her like family.

Quinn didn't realize what she was doing until she was in front of her parents' house. She had the car in park and she knew that her parents weren't home right now. She stepped out of the car, moving in autopilot, and used the spare key that they must have forgotten about hidden in a loose brick near the garage. Everything after she entered the house was a blur except the thought that her parents still never locked the liquor cabinet even now, still didn't think that they had a reason to do so.

She drank and drank and drank and drank. Whiskey, Jack Daniels, her father's favorite scotch, Bourbon, Vodka, Rum, Cognac, and then … she couldn't remember anything. She just felt cold, so cold. Quinn wasn't sure what happened next but she thought she fell asleep.

When she woke up she was in a room she didn't recognize and she couldn't remember anything at all. She felt warmer though. She felt warm and her throat felt raw now that she was waking up a bit more. She wasn't sure why she felt any of these things but before she could register anything else she was asleep again.

Things she hadn't noticed due to her barely cognizant mind, was that someone was holding her hand, fast asleep in the chair next to her bed. She should have realized why she felt warmer because those hands belonged to someone she hadn't seen in a while. A blonde, older looking version of Quinn was fast asleep next to her with dried tears in her eyes.

X

The entire Glee Club was worried, heck, even Sue Sylvester was worried about the missing cheerleader. Actually, Sue knew what had become of the cheerleader just last night and she was making Figgins due something about it right now. It was now Thursday and no one in school had seen Quinn since she left school on Friday and left the Jones' residence barely an hour after school activities were let out. It was disheartening and sad to see that the blonde had mysteriously disappeared all of a sudden. It was like she was there one day and the next she was gone.

No one had been in the mood to sing anything much. Least of all Rachel hadn't sung a single song since she figured out Quinn was missing. Rachel read that last note over and over again hoping that the worst wasn't what she thought, imagined, it to be. She was losing sleep and there were bags under her eyes as every night she had a horrible nightmare, one in which Quinn had tried to kill herself … maybe even succeeded and that was why no one knew where she was still. Rachel looked thinner than she already was because she couldn't even bring herself to eat much. Finally after much coaxing Rachel told her dads about Quinn, not that they were surprised by her confession, but the fact that she was missing made them worry. Sure, they didn't care for the blonde cheerleader much but that didn't mean they wanted something bad to happen to her. They were actually kind of impressed by the lengths Quinn had gone to woo Rachel and the confession she made was rather adorable. This though, this was very worrying and disconcerting that the blonde hadn't been seen in over five days now. It seemed like everyone was worried about the missing blonde.

Finally though, someone knew, someone had found out what had become of the missing teenager. Sue was in Figgins office telling him to make an emergency assembly right now. Figgins didn't have much choice when she barked at him that Quinn Fabray was actually in a hospital right now, fighting for her life in the ICU because she had alcohol poisoning. This was a school related issue because not only was Quinn a student but this was something every single student should be aware about and warned against immediately. They didn't want another student potentially ending up like the blonde who had nearly died of asphyxiation.

There wasn't much choice but for Figgins to agree considering one of his students was in a hospital after nearly dying. The announcement was made almost immediately.

_Students of William McKinley High School, this is your principal, you are to report to the auditorium for an emergency, unplanned meeting. There is an issue that needs to be discussed immediately. I will see you all in the auditorium shortly._

As soon as all of the students were finally gathered in the auditorium Figgins came up to the podium, prodded the mike to make sure it was working, and finally spoke. "It has come to my attention today that a certain student has been hospitalized because of alcohol poisoning. She is still in the ICU of the hospital currently and I want this to be taken seriously with you students. I understand that high school parties can get wild and such things, and certain alcoholic beverages are consumed but let this be warning students. This student almost died because they had slipped into a coma. The student almost died because no one was around when she slipped into a coma and if her mother hadn't come home in time she would be dead and we would be having a different conversation." Figgins paused as he looked over to Sue Sylvester's grim face for a moment before he continued. "Do you students understand the serious affects of alcohol and how damaging it is?" He looked around at the faces of some students who looked serious and others who couldn't care less. "Your cavalier attitude is what causes things like this to happen. What would you do if one day you came home and your mother or father were in a coma? A brother or sister? Someone close to you was almost dead because of alcohol consumption and you wouldn't care even then?" The students who looked like they hadn't cared earlier grimaced and looked away in shame. "Sue would like a word with you students."

Sue walked over and the students who weren't paying attention earlier immediately straightened up for fear of the woman. "I just want to say that as much as I hate almost every single one you kids in this school this is a serious thing that can happen to any single one of you. Alcohol affects every single person in this room no matter how stupid or uncaring you are of this emergency assembly. How would you feel if you came home from school today to find out a family member close to you was dead because of something pertaining to alcohol? Would you just stare uncomprehendingly and not care at all for them? Would you cry, wishing you had at least said one last 'I love you' that morning. Or would you be just as indifferent as some of you seem right now? That is what I want to ask you to think about right now. Even if you don't know who she is … someone is still fighting for her life right now, someone could still die as we speak, would you say you still don't care? If you really don't care and just want to get back to your class you're even more heartless than I am and I had my heart taken out a long time ago but a Russian doctor who couldn't speak English and was half blind."

With that last statement Sue walked away from the microphone and Figgins came back up. "Students, I want you to think about this seriously because one of our own is currently fighting for her life in the hospital right now. You are dismissed now."

The entire time the assembly had been going all of the Glee Club members wondered if it was Quinn Mr. Figgins was talking about. They hoped, they prayed that it wasn't her. They could have denied it was Quinn until Coach Sylvester stepped up, until Sue Sylvester herself, came up to that stage to say something. It was then, in that moment, that they _all_ knew without any doubt that it was indeed Quinn Fabray who was in the ICU in the hospital right now in a coma. The only reason Sue Sylvester ever became involved with anything it was always because of her Cheerios and this time there couldn't possibly be any kind of exception. It made them sick with worry, sick with concern, sick with the thought that they could have done something to prevent it. Though everyone was worried the ones who were the most nervous were Rachel, Santana, Brittany, Mercedes, and Puck because of their individual connections to the girl. The one especially wracked with guilt was Rachel because she was one of the last people to talk to Quinn but most likely the reason Quinn went off on the deep end.

Rachel ran out of the auditorium quickly to throw up what little breakfast she had eaten into the nearest restroom. At least she would have if she did have a gag reflex. Instead she ended up dry heaving over the toilet miserably, almost wishing she could throw up right now. Not long after she entered so had Santana, an angry Santana Lopez at that. "What the fuck did you do to her?" she asked loudly, wildly, angrily. She didn't care that Rachel was hunched over a toilet seat dry heaving heavily. She was too angry to care.

She waited and waited until Rachel seemed to be done dry heaving. After Rachel was sure she had stopped dry heaving into the toilet she went to the sink to wash her face with cold water and just because she felt the need to she tried to rinse her mouth a little. "I … I don't have any answers for you Santana. I simply … I only told her that I couldn't reciprocate her feelings." Santana narrowed her eyes at Rachel, seemingly seeing into her soul with the way she was looking at her, through her even.

She gasped. "No way, no fucking way Berry. You … you love her … _you LOVE HER_ and you _FUCKING chickened out_ … like what the actual fuck?" Santana was washed away in the realization, almost disgusted with Rachel except she could understand because Quinn had done the same thing. She had reacted in almost the same way then as she did now when Quinn had confessed about actually being in love with Rachel fucking Barbra Berry. It made Santana almost calm down for a moment before she looked up at Rachel again. "You can't deny that you're in love with her because I can already tell, I can already see it. But I can also see that you got scared and you freaked out and told her now and now she's … she's in the fucking hospital in a mother fucking _COMA_ because she drank herself to alcohol poisoning. She freaked out and went to her parents' house and drank herself into a coma like this. Oh my fucking God."

Denials were on her lips already but she couldn't bring herself to say any of them. She simply nodded her head at first before she finally broke down. "Oh God, what did I do? How could I … I can't even … I can't believe that Quinn's in the hospital right now … I have to make this right somehow. I have to own up to this! I shouldn't have told her that I couldn't accept her feelings? What have I done?" Rachel was crying fiercely now that her panic attack was over with. She knew it was true. There really was no denying it. It was all her fault that Quinn was currently in the hospital. She had probably been so upset by everything and accidentally drank herself into a coma.

Finally, Santana seemed to realize that Rachel was blaming herself for Quinn's current state. It wasn't her intention to accuse Rachel of putting Quinn in the hospital but she realized that that was exactly what she had done. "Hey, hey, I know what I said and all but this isn't … this isn't your fault all right. Yeah, you told her you weren't interested or some shit like that but you didn't force her to drink until she couldn't feel anymore. Quinn would be pissed if she found out I kind of, sort of made you think that it was your fault she's like this right now, okay? So … stop crying and really think this through instead of being so emotional. Calm down, all right?" Santana tentatively patted Rachel on the back for comfort, clearly uncomfortable herself with it. The only people Santana was ever showed kindness to were people in her family depending on whom it was, her cousin _Carlos_ needed to stop leering at Brittany, and Brittany and Quinn. Quinn was sometimes an iffy point sometimes though.

Rachel was still crying, hiccupping, and all around looking as upset as she had ever been, even more than the egging incident with Jesse St. Jackass. Admittedly this was a much more serious problem with Quinn's life hanging in the balance but either way Rachel was much more upset than Santana ever remembered seeing her. "I … I'm just … I can't believe that this is happening right now, that Quinn's still in the ICU in a coma because she felt so bad she felt the need to drink until it got to this point. It's hard and I know that it's not really my fault but it is still my fault inadvertently."

God, Santana was not cut out for this job. "Ay, dios mio. Look, Berry, I know what you think but it's _clearly_ not as if you forced her to drink until she got to this state. Yeah, you kind of broke her by not accepting her confession and yeah, I understand that you sort of could have done it in a much _nicer_ way but it's still not your fault all right? Q's always had her issues and this is one of them. When things get too hard for her to handle and she doesn't know how to deal she does this because this is what years of living with her parents has taught her. Drink until you forget and usually she does this but she's around either Brittany or me and we make sure she doesn't overdo it, doesn't get to the point she got to this time. We thought, hey she's going to be with Mercedes' family, she'll be all right but … then … then she left them because she thought she wasn't welcome anymore probably or some shit like that. Anyways, what I'm trying to say is she's changed a lot in the last year but this is one of Quinn's demons, something that she was still trying to change about herself."

And then Rachel was looking at her with these doe eyes that made Santana feel like she was looking at a kicked puppy asking for forgiveness for their wrong doing. "I had no idea Quinn was struggling with something like that." It was a pretty heartrending sight.

"Of course you didn't. She didn't really talk about her family life much but the things she has told us … it makes me want to fucking murder her son of a bitch for a father. He is just about the most sexist, racist, homophobic, intolerant, and idiotic man in the world. I've never liked him not only because he was hard on Quinn but also because he just seems to exist to hate. He made Quinn so terrified of her feelings that she freaking bullied you for a year and a half before she'd had enough and then the pregnancy happened. Anyways, you know how Q fought against the slushying regime and all that? It was for you, too. It started out for you but then it became more about protecting Britt and me from those Neanderthals and how they probably would have thought of slushying us for coming out but she wasn't going to let that happen so … here we are now. You, feeling guilty about rejecting Quinn, and me regretting not making sure Q was feeling better before leaving her to go to Mercedes' house. We both wish we had done something more to keep her from ending up where she is but there's nothing we can do to change that now so we have to make sure that we do something about that now that we know where she is finally. We should start with a visit to the hospital or maybe we should talk to Mrs. Fabray seeing as she's the one who found her and saved her life. That's what we've got to do now."

Rachel could only nod her agreement. She had to fix this, fix whatever mistakes she had made. She couldn't believe that she said no at all now. She really was in love with Quinn and it took Quinn going to the ICU for Rachel to truly realize it. Santana was also another reason and that in and of itself was something she had never thought would have happened.

X

Everything leading up to this moment was a complete blur. She couldn't remember a single thing as she stood at the hospital's waiting room. They had to wait for a lot of things because they weren't family and Judy Fabray had to be asked if they were allowed to visit. It wasn't as if their whole 'can neither confirm nor deny thing' had meant anything but that Quinn was in fact there. They just had to protect Quinn's rights as the HIPPA law was something they weren't allowed to violate in the least and it was a serious thing. It was why HIPPA became a law in the first place.

It felt as if they had been sitting there for an eternity that was really only three minutes before a nurse came back and said Judy would be out to see them shortly before they were allowed in to visit. It was barely a minute after the nurse left that Judy Fabray herself was standing before them with a weary and sad countenance. She looked like she'd aged several years since Santana had last seen her about a year ago. It was actually a very sad and almost endearing sight. Santana wasn't sure how to react to her appearance just yet. Sure, they were all worried about Quinn … the question was whether Russell Fabray was still in the picture or not.

"Mrs. Fabray? I'm Rachel. I'm sure you've seen me singing with Quinn before from Glee Club performance. How is she? Will she be all right?" Rachel at least introduced herself first before launching into a million questions that Judy could hardly keep up with.

A hand was put up, "slow down, sweetie. She … she woke up after about a day and a half or so in coma and she's just recuperating. She was just moved into a regular hospital room last night after they were sure she was coherent and … didn't have any prolonged respiratory problems. She's … she's still being seen by the hospital's psychiatrist to make sure she isn't depressed or anything like that. I … I asked her if she was okay with visitors but she didn't really respond, hasn't really been talking much. That could be because her throat hurts though because they … they had to … had to use a tube to pump the alcohol out of her system because it had been excessive." Santana could see that the woman was truly distraught and she noticed that the woman looked frayed and so very upset over the turn of events. She looked like she hadn't eaten or slept much the past few days. She was still a Fabray though so she had kept her appearance up with showering at least and changing her clothes. Her face was bereft of makeup and the bags under her eyes were obvious as well as the puffy eyes and red cheeks from crying so much.

"May I … may I go in and ask her if she's okay with me … visiting?" Rachel asked the hope on her face so evident it made Judy hesitate to say no to her doe eyed pleading.

"I … I suppose you can, Rachel, was it?" She asked slowly, unsurely.

Rachel nodded her head eagerly. "Thank you, thank you so much! You don't know what this means to me! What, what room is she in?" Rachel's eyes had lit up momentarily but then she asked that question and it was back to being sad and she looked like a kicked puppy again.

"She's down the hall a bit further in room 306 bed A. You should see her name on the room." With that Rachel barely thanked her before she practically ran down to Quinn's room leaving Santana alone with Judy. "It's nice to see you again Santana. How have you been?" This was a talk Santana was not looking forward to having at all.

X

Rachel had stopped in front of Quinn's room. She took a deep, steadying breath, trying to give herself the courage necessary before she knocked on the door.

"Mom? You don't have to knock." Quinn's voice was hoarse and raw sounding. It made Rachel's eyes tear up as she stepped in to see Quinn looking at the door and a soft gasp registered her ears but Rachel didn't see anything else but Quinn in that hospital bed. Quinn looked like a beautiful fallen angel with her wings clipped. She was in a hospital gown with the bed raised so that she was kind of half lying down half sitting. She looked weaker than Rachel had ever seen her, drained, tired, and so small. "R-Rachel? What, what are you doing here?" It was then that Rachel heard something beeping wildly and realized that it was Quinn's pulse reader taking in the fact that Quinn was panicked. Almost as soon as it started beating wildly it calmed down to a normal rate again.

"Quinn, are you all right?!" Rachel rushed to her side immediately and as soon as she touched Quinn she heard the monitor speed up slightly before it slowed again. She watched the machine in awe, it was something that forced Quinn to be honest Rachel realized. Quinn did truly, genuinely like her.

"I-I'm fine. Just um … just a bit nervous." Before Quinn could say anything else Rachel leaned forward and kissed Quinn on the lips, hearing that damn pulse reader speed up yet again. Rachel hadn't meant to just kiss her quiet, somewhat considering the beeping, but she was just so relieved. "What … what was that for?" Quinn asked when Rachel pulled back. The kiss was just a firm press of lips that Quinn had automatically returned without thought.

"That was … that was an 'I'm glad you're alive so I can tell you how I really feel about you kiss' … you know, one of those kinds?" Rachel said with a joking tone of voice but it was weak, barely there.

Looking down at her hands Quinn tried to believe that it was true, that Rachel meant what she said but … how could she? She had almost died … Rachel might have been feeling these things only because of guilt or something like that. Quinn was sure that she had died and gone to heaven or this was all just a dream. The best dream she'd ever had in her entire life. "How do I know that this is real?" There was a pause, "after what you said to me last week I … how can you possibly change your mind so quickly?" Quinn finally looked up at Rachel through watery eyes.

"It is real and I can prove it." Rachel took Quinn's pulse reader off of her finger before Quinn realized what she was doing and then she put it on her own index finger.

"What does that even—" Quinn was interrupted by yet again another kiss and she heard it, the pulse reader, which had been steady, had spiked up as their lips touched and it stayed at a constant higher pace but not overly quick pulse. When Rachel pulled back, she licked her lips and had a blissful expression on her face. It was like she was trying to commit this moment to memory and Quinn had no choice to believe her. She leaned in this time and pulled Rachel into her so that she was practically lying on top of her upper half as they kissed languidly, Rachel's pulse spiking up in excitement again as they kissed longer than they had earlier.

This time when Rachel pulled away she made it so that their faces were barely apart. "Do you believe me now?" Rachel sounded a little breathless as she asked. Quinn giggled and nodded her head, kissing her again. "I'll take that as a yes," she mumbled against Quinn's eager lips, unable to contain her smile. They pulled away a fourth time and Rachel pushed herself back until she was sitting next to Quinn, kind of staring down at her but due to Quinn's height advantage kind of not. That thought made Rachel think of how perfect Quinn was to hug until Quinn's voice broke her out of her thoughts.

"Wait; let me move over so you can sort of sit next to me instead." Quinn scooted over so that she was about two inches away from the edge of the bed. She looked up when she was done and patted the space next to her, "come on, I don't bite." Rachel giggled a bit. She was glad that Quinn didn't have a roommate now that she realized that they could have been disturbing someone if they had been in the same room as Quinn.

When they had both settled down, Quinn laying her head on top of Rachel's and taking hold of Rachel's hand and waist, after taking her pulse reader back Rachel decided it was time to talk. Quinn nuzzled further into Rachel as Rachel spoke up. "First and foremost … I owe you an apology Quinn." Quinn had been lazily tracing patterns on Rachel's waist and kissing the back of Rachel's hand every few minutes. It was a compromising position to be in if either Quinn's mother came back in or a nurse came in to check up on Quinn.

"For what?" Quinn asked though she knew well enough what Rachel was talking about.

"For, for," Quinn had taken to slipping her hand just under Rachel's shirt to feel bare skin but innocently. It was still distracting though but Rachel pressed on. "For rejecting you so harshly when I knew … when I knew that I had already fallen for you and denying it by saying no anyways." Rachel sighed as Quinn pressed another kiss to the back of her hand and kissed her cheek, allowing her to talk. It was as if Quinn was _encouraging her_ to express herself. "I had been told by several people about your feelings and … I had started to speculate what my reason for convincing myself it couldn't possibly be you was. I mean … I dismissed you when I first knew of the initial F despite the fact that your last name is Fabray. I also remember a conversation nearly three months ago with Santana that should have made it _so obvious_ I feel like I should smack myself right now." Before Rachel could do what she even said Quinn kissed her cheek again, soothing her it seemed. It worked. "A-anyways, I kept feeling as if I was reading your thoughts whenever a new note came up, whenever I read a new poem. I kept … I kept envisioning your face with every romantic word on each page Quinn. I'm surprised I didn't realize you were the secret admirer sooner and it … it kind of made me feel _stupid_ for not realizing it was you all this time. You came to me and befriended me. You stopped the bullying, you made me feel all of these things I'd never felt before by being my friend and I felt … somehow betrayed that you never said anything sooner in those two months. That is why I reacted so badly, though it is no excuse for me lying about being in love with you though." Another soft and lingering kiss to her cheek.

It was like Quinn knew that Rachel was done talking because she started talking, as hoarse as her voice was. "I … the reason why I'm not mad about everything, upset and throwing things, is because of my immense _relief_ that you're here now and not just a hot figment of my imagination." Rachel playfully slapped Quinn on the hand, to which Quinn responded with a giggle and a kiss to the back of the hand that had slapped her. "I did kind of … well, really almost die and if I had died … I never would have gotten this chance. I'm glad that I didn't accidentally kill myself last week."

The look on Rachel's face was heart wrenching for a moment as Quinn mentioned it. "What … what happened anyways Quinn? Why did you … how did you end up here?" Rachel asked carefully.

Though Quinn seemed reluctant to answer she spoke up finally. "I was in a dark place at the time Rachel. I know and realize that Mercedes' family wasn't kicking me out and in fact had been trying to keep me there with them but after everything in the auditorium I just wanted to be alone. I just wanted to wallow in my emotions for a bit. I fell back to a bad habit that I'd learned from my mother and father growing up. Well, it was mostly my father's doing more than my mother's. Mom … she drank because of my father's emotionally abusive words towards both of us. So I packed up what little belongings I had at the Jones' house and went to my parents house … most of it is hazy now but I remembered drinking and drinking, wondering when I was going to forget why I was drinking in the first place but then … I think I must have passed out or something because I don't remember anything after that at all. I might have actually slipped into a coma and that's why I don't remember anything from that moment on."

"Oh, Quinn! That's just … I could have lost you and we'd never have been able to work any of this out! I was … I was so worried when on Monday no one had seen you or heard from you since school let out on Friday other than the brief moment you were with the Jones' before you left them! I was scared out of my mind wondering where you could have gone … if I would ever have another chance to talk to you ever again." Rachel whispered this part, "if I'd ever get to tell you how wrong I was and that I'm actually in love with you. That I'm more in love with you than I've ever been with anyone before in my entire life."

Quinn's expression softened at the look on Rachel's face. She gave her a tender kiss on her temple. "I think of it this way Rachel. I know that I actually would have reacted far more poorly had you been the one to confess to me instead of the other way around. Not only that but … it would make me feel like the biggest hypocrite if I reacted badly now after everything we've been through together over the last few years and my past treatment of you. I mean, yeah, you did lie and you rejected my feelings but I know that deep down … if you had rejected me … I deserved it. It doesn't excuse me drinking myself into a coma in the least but that's … I'm sure Santana must have been furious and probably told you about that by now. If she hasn't then I'll be the first to say that I don't know her as well as I thought I did." Rachel's lack of response was answer enough, "and now I can say that Santana Lopez is a predicable softy." Quinn said with a grin and victorious kiss to Rachel's slightly burning cheek. "This … I hope anyways, kind of makes us even right?" Rachel nodded, "and … and does that mean we're um … dating?"

Rachel smirked, "not yet. Not until you're better and you've performed _Incredible_ at Regionals in a month and a half." Quinn's eyes widened. "I … I should have been upfront and honest about my feelings because I knew they were there … knew that I'd had a crush on you for the longest time … probably since I first saw you, too, actually. Of course I never said anything just like you but for slightly different reasons and now here we are. I want you, I've always wanted you, always been so in love with you, especially after seeing the real you, you've always tried to hide away. Do you remember asking me why I still wanted to be your friend even when you were always so horrible to me?" Quinn nodded and wondered where Rachel was going with this, "well, I could always see Lucy somewhere in your hazel eyes. I had always seen the regret in your eyes after you slushied me or said something mean to me. It's why I never cry but instead fight back whenever you say those mean things. I always knew that you didn't mean them. And now … now you're asking me to date you and I only have one answer for you …" Quinn waited for Rachel to say something but instead she felt lips eagerly pressing against hers for a fourth time. It felt as magical as that first time only about fifteen minutes ago.

This time when they broke apart it was because of a loud throat clearing from the doorway. "M-mom," Quinn said somewhat anxiously.

"Lucy Quinn Fabray, you in the hospital to recover not shove your tongue down this young woman's throat." They both blushed at that because there had indeed been tongue involved in that last kiss as well as some soft moans from the kiss's, make out really, intensity. "I also want to know why your hand is still underneath her shirt like that." Quinn hadn't realized that her hand had stayed under Rachel's shirt while they were kissing. She practically ripped it out from under Rachel's shirt much to both of their disappointment. "And I also want to know if you'd both like to have dinner with me after you're released from the hospital so we can all get to know each other better Quinn and … Rachel."

They both looked at each other in a way that said 'is this real life' before looking back at the nearly smirking visage of Judy Fabray. Her expression softened when she saw how happy Quinn looked at the question as she nodded her head. "I … I don't know how any of this happened but … thank you, mom, for not freaking out, for not calling me any of the names dad used to call Rachel's dads and … for being my mom." Judy nearly ran over to hug her daughter.

"He's no longer my husband and you'll always be my daughter, no matter what, Quinnie. I … I'm sorry I wasn't stronger at first, didn't say no and make you stay with me last year. I want to make up for it by doing what I didn't do and by asking if you would move back in with me only if you want to, really, absolutely want to, Quinn." Quinn's nod spoke for her as she held her mother just as tightly, not wanting to let go just yet.

X

It was after nearly an hour of talking between mom and daughter before Judy finally walked out to tell Rachel that she could go back in with Santana. Santana had been patiently waiting for her turn when Judy actually asked Rachel if she could talk to her for a minute. "I just wanted to ask you about a few things. You go on and visit Quinnie Santana. You've waited long enough." With a heartfelt look between the two Santana gave her a nod and went to the room she had been waiting to go in for far too long but she knew it was necessary. She would always wait for her friend, now was no different from when they first made their promises during their first Cheerios training camp together as young teenagers. They would always have each other's backs no matter what.

After Santana had left with a swish of her cheerleading uniform Judy turned to Rachel, "what did you want to speak with me about Mrs. Fabray?" Rachel asked nervously as she watched the woman scrutinizing her in a rather calculating manner. It was rather unnerving because was she even blinking? It was most certainly an older version of Quinn without a doubt but she wasn't even remotely attracted to this one let alone in love with the woman and so it was … uncomfortable.

"I want to know what your intentions are with my daughter. I know that I haven't been present in her life for nearly a year and a half not counting when she was in labor because she was drugged up and in pain at the time and barely spoke to me other than to scream at me about being in God awful pain at the time." Judy looked away for a moment. "I meant it when I said that I should have been a stronger woman and not allow … Russell to throw Quinn out so easily. I … I had been acting as _Mrs. Fabray_, Russell's wife, at the time instead of _Judy_ Fabray, Quinn's mother _always_. I only have myself to blame for my weakness in not standing up to what I believed then and now … now I'm making up for everything if she'll let me." She took a breath, "and I'm starting with that now. I … I'd always known that there was something _different_ about Quinn because it was always so easy for her to stay pure until the one time she wasn't because of that _Puckerman_ boy. I should have … I should have been there for her when she had doubted herself because then … then she wouldn't have gotten pregnant but … _Beth_ wouldn't have been born and I would _never_ wish that now. I'm stronger now and I know that deep down … I'd always know that she liked you from the moment she saw you at McKinley. But … I let Russell be the voice of reason when he told her that she wasn't allowed to be nice to you because of your 'heathen' fathers and their lifestyle choice to go to hell one day." She sighed wearily. "I hope you understand that I've never thought this way and I actually have a lesbian sister I grew up with. My mother and father were rare in that they accepted her, not tolerated, but _accepted her_ as she was girlfriends and now wife and children."

Rachel was touched that Judy was baring herself to her right now, telling her things that Quinn probably didn't even know unless they'd talked about it during their mother-daughter heart to heart earlier. It made it easier for Rachel to find the words. "It all started almost three months ago with a single flower that turned into nearly one hundred flowers." Rachel said with a smile. "I was … in awe that someone would take the time to actually tell me that they were my secret admirer and that they were in love with me. I had secret flowers and love notes left in my locker every single day for nearly three months straight until Quinn finally confessed to me. It was amazing, it was _Incredible_ but I … I said no at the time." Rachel looked away from Judy in shame. Judy gently took Rachel's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze for her to continue. Rachel smiled her thanks as she started speaking again, "I hadn't realized it at the time but … the entire time since that first confession from the secret admirer … I had been hoping that it was Quinn who was my secret admirer but it was just a flight of fancy for me. I had only thought so in passing, wishing that Quinn would turn out to be my secret admirer, the one who had been professing their love for _so long_ that when it turned out to be her … I didn't believe it at first. I couldn't allow myself to believe that her feelings for me were actually genuine. Everything became clear though when she sang a song she wrote for me _to me_ to confess her feelings and that she was the secret admirer all along."

There was a pause as they both thought over what Rachel had spoken, as thoughts of Rachel's memories and reiteration of the last three month's events swirled around in their mind. "Thank you for being honest with me Rachel. I'm sure that Quinn's bullying was most likely a large factor in the reason you reacted so poorly to her confession of her feelings." Rachel looked surprised by the fact that Judy was aware of it. "Russell had applauded it, encouraged it when Quinn offhandedly mentioned that she wasn't the nicest person to you in very vague details. He seemed to revel in it and it made me sick that he was using our daughter to relive his days as a bully when he was in high school. He had actually attended high school with one of your father's cousins. He, himself, wasn't gay in the least but he defended his cousin from the homophobic slurs that Russell spoke so he was just as bad, just as guilty in his eyes." Rachel knew that Judy was talking about her uncle Barry. They had always joked how funny it would have been if Barry ended up being gay and married into the last name Berry! He would have had to say his name was Barry, Berry and people would have wondered why he wouldn't tell them his last name! _Focus brain, dang it, focus!_ Rachel knew she was too easily distracted when Judy gave her the infamous Fabray eyebrow raise and if Quinn was good her mother was even more honed and skilled in the art of that eyebrow raise. Rachel couldn't help but think how sexy it was now when Quinn did it.

"That would be my Uncle Barry Goldblum, no relation to Jeff Goldblum," Rachel said automatically, as it was often asked if she was related to him at all. It made Judy chuckle at the girl who had stolen her daughter's heart so easily. She could see why her Quinnie liked her so much. She was adorable in her sincerity and she had quite a few quirks that she knew Quinn definitely noticed and appreciated. "Yes, well, to answer your earlier demand … I intend to love your daughter. I intend to woo her back after her many months of wooing me and I intend to do it even better because she did such a wonderful job. I, however, intend to do it in the open if she is willing and I won't be a secret admirer, I will be the worried admirer." Judy couldn't help the indelicate snort she gave as she heard the ridiculous name and knew for a fact that this girl wasn't going anywhere. She was definitely going to be a Fabray one day … or maybe even a Berry-Fabray. Maybe Quinn would become a Berry for her. She wasn't sure yet but Judy could see a wedding and kids with this girl who won her daughter over with her endearing personality. She was sincere and that was almost enough for Judy.

As for Santana, as soon as she walked into Quinn's room she said, "You need to cut that shit out, Q. You almost gave me a heart attack when I found out that this was where you'd been bumming for almost a week." Quinn merely rolled her eyes at Santana and told her to get over to her bed for a hug before she died. Santana rolled her eyes, "ha ha, that's not even funny Q, not in the least you bitch! You had me worried sick!" Santana yelled into Quinn's shoulder as her emotions took over. It was going to be a long night but it was worth it for Quinn. Quinn was glad she didn't accidentally kill herself even more now.

X

The curtains were going to go up soon and Quinn was nervous about her performance. She was so nervous as she waited for the results with everyone else. A calming presence enveloped her from behind in a hug. "It'll be okay Quinn. You were amazing and _Incredible_ baby. I love you, so much, Quinn." Rachel cooed into Quinn's ear and gave it an affectionate nip because she couldn't reach any closer to Quinn's face because of their height difference. She snuggled even further into Quinn's back and sighed happily, thinking back to the last magical month and a half. She actually started leaving Quinn flowers in her locker as well as love notes telling her how much her love was reciprocated.

_This is my first flower to you Quinn. This is the Star of Bethlehem and I'm sure you know that it stands for Reconciliation, Atonement because of my rejection of you and this is my apology. I decided to do it with flowers like you because this is my way of saying that you are more than loved by me. I'd had a crush on you the moment I first saw you during our freshman year but I didn't dare say anything and now … here we are. We've confessed, we've made up, and we're undoubtedly in love. I want to give you another proper apology anyways because you deserve it, and so much more than just that. I love you but I wanted to give you this little bit of it first as you have given me so many._

_Love always, Rachel_

The first one was a beautiful white flower with six petals and Quinn did know what it meant because of the immense research she had done on flowers. Quinn wrote down and copied all kinds of information and researched what the flowers looked like first so she could pick out the best flowers to give in confession.

_This is the Myrtle and I'm sure you know that it means Hebrew Emblem of Marriage and Love and though we aren't married and have only confessed love … I see that future with you in a way I have always seen Broadway. It is not yet here but I know that it is inevitable, like you were inevitable. I love you so much, with all of my heart, and I want you to know that no matter where life leads us, no matter how far apart we may end up being, you will always be here in my heart. I just hope someday we can call each other wife and wife and walk hand in hand as a couple no matter where we are. I love you so much and I want you to know this always._

_As always with love, Rachel Berry_

_PS. If we were ever married we have to marry as Berry-Fabray if not the other way around!_

This flower was a dark pink and reading this note had made Quinn blush madly but smile so happily. Quinn couldn't believe how far they'd come in the last month and a half of dating. Rachel had said that they would be officially dating until later but she was too impatient for her own good and had caved in only a few days later. Of course, it wasn't as if Quinn hadn't worn Rachel down with words of love and being openly affectionate when she came back to school on Monday by hugging her, holding her hand down the hallway, giving her soft pecks on the cheek. The last straw had been when Quinn had been aiming for a kiss on her cheek and Rachel turned so that their lips touched and a gasp rang out in the hallway. They didn't seem to hear a thing as it became a firm kiss that had a little bit of tongue involved. That had been the start of Faberry being the leading couple in school over Brittana. It was mostly because Quinn wasn't as evil and Rachel's personality was contained to mostly being around Quinn. Or as Santana put it, "you calm each other's crazy so nobody else has to deal with your individual shit as much bitches." That was followed by an admonishment from Brittany.

Quinn turned around and pulled Rachel into her for a hug she could participate in a bit more and gave her a chaste peck on the lips. Finn glowered from where he stood somewhere in the background. He had tried to convince Rachel that she wasn't really in love with Quinn and that Quinn had brainwashed her somehow when they came into school holding hands and actually being openly affectionate towards each other. Quinn had moved into a spare bedroom at Rachel's house temporarily as Quinn and her mother became reacquainted with each other and their once broken relationship. Things were going well in all fronts and they couldn't be happier about it. Even the Berry men had swooned a bit when they found out about Quinn being the secret admirer, Hiram had secretly read Rachel's love notes, and gushed to his husband about it.

Their smiles were radiant, "I love you too Rachel. I don't think I can remember a time when I wasn't either head over heels for you or denying that I was and have always been crazy about you."

Rachel swooned and leaned in for another heart stopping kiss that made Quinn groan a bit. "Hey, break it up you two. I don't need to see you two making out right before they announce the top ten."

"San, you said that you think it's cute when they show affection in public and that you like it even more when Finn is watching because he needs to stop whining." Santana blushed furiously.

"I told you not to say that in front of them!" she whined humorously. Brittany gave her a sheepish look. "It, it doesn't matter. As long as Frankenteen doesn't come stomping over here and make a fuss … _again_ like the big baby he is, we're all good."

"Hey, hey! The top ten list just went up everybody! Let's go look!" Kurt yelled excitedly as the rest ran over to where the list was just posted.

They were all clambering to get to the front to see where New Directions would be on the list. Finally Rachel, because she was the tiniest, managed to get through and ran back. "So?" Everyone asked in anxious anticipation.

"We got 2nd place. We got 2nd place EVERYONE!" Her scream was loud enough for several people to feel as if their ears had been pierced by the volume and pitch but none them cared. They just placed SECOND at REGIONALS! It took a moment before they got over the shock.

Everyone crowded around Quinn and lifted her up with Rachel as they celebrated by the second best this year! They would try for first next year. They still had another year to win this competition and they were going for it!

This was the best year for Quinn and Rachel because through all of the craziness and secret flowers they found each other and that made everything worth it in the end. They didn't even need _Operation: Faberry_ in order to get together. They just needed each other and though Kurt and Mercedes were disappointed by the fact that their operation didn't work out in the end at least Faberry had been realized and that was enough for the two best friends.

_These secret flowers lead me to you._

X

Okay everybody! Thanks for coming along for the ride and journey through Quinn's confession! I hope that this is an ending that everyone accepts! I've been asked if this is going to be the absolute last chapter or not and if you would like a sequel then I'd like for you to tell me in your reviews that you would like a sequel. If it's just one or two people I might not but if there are enough people requesting a sequel then I hope to see you for a sequel! I'll need to flesh out a story setting and plot for this sequel of course! Please tell me your thoughts in a review for this last chapter!^^

姫宮光る


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